Women in Sports Tech partners with SRAM to help grow opportunities for women in cycling
Chicago – August 30, 2022: SRAM and Women in Sports Tech (WiST) are announcing their partnership to promote and increase opportunities and representation of women in cycling, including electronics, app development, and engineering.
WiST is a nonprofit organization that expands career opportunities and enhances pathways for women in sports tech, at all stages of their careers, from the classroom to the boardroom. WiST develops and delivers innovative programs, original content, and a global community that provides tangible value for women and employers alike.
WiST has a strong reputation globally for its impactful work. In five short years, WiST's unique programs and engaging original content have created a passionate community of 20,000+ committed stakeholders and students. The nonprofit organization now has over 32 corporate partners who support their work in all categories of sports tech.
"We are thrilled to partner with SRAM, a technology leader whose brands include an array of the best cycling componentry on the planet. As an avid cyclist, it’s innovations like SRAM’s AXS wireless drivetrain, connected learning apps, and digitally controlled suspension technologies that have made them leaders. Our partnership will enable us to work with an iconic brand that combines technology and sport, promotes the need for more diversity in cycling, and encourages women to consider exciting careers in the cycling space," said Marilou McFarlane, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of WiST.
"At SRAM, we aim to be the world's most exciting cycling component brand. Alongside that ideal, we are focused on growing our opportunities for women, attracting more women to work with us, and providing an environment that is welcoming, positive, and full of opportunity. Moreover, while 27% of SRAM's employees are women, diversity continues to be one of our greatest strengths, as we continue towards the goal of building an even more inclusive company. Our focus in working with WiST is to continue to expand our talent pipeline and offer even more opportunities for women at SRAM and throughout the cycling industry," said Angela Williams, who leads the HR Talent & Inclusion Initiatives. Williams added, “Applicants do not need to be cycling enthusiasts to find a home and success here at SRAM.”
"SRAM is focused on ensuring that our workplaces are welcoming to a wide range of people, where team members have a strong sense of belonging and that our culture and practices support team members as they contribute their knowledge, experiences, and skills to help expand the potential of cycling," said Eileen Mulry, SRAM VP of Human Resources.
"Historically, we have sponsored the top women's teams at the sport's highest level to a much greater proportion than men. Female athletes continually inspire us and hopefully serve as a beacon to draw more women into the sport and this industry. Additionally, most of our women's teams are very involved in our product development and more often the first to adopt new technologies," said Martin Killeen, HR Talent Acquisition Manager.
About SRAM
SRAM® is a manufacturer of innovative bicycle components founded in Chicago, Illinois, in September of 1987, with the invention of its first product, Grip Shift®. Throughout its 37-year history, SRAM has focused on innovative product development in all cycling disciplines. SRAM has also acquired some of cycling's most exciting brands, including RockShox®, Zipp®, Quarq®, TIME®, and most recently adding Hammerhead® and Velocio®. With 4000-plus employees, offices, and manufacturing in 16 countries, SRAM is the world's second-largest manufacturer of bike parts.
Additionally, SRAM is a cycling technology brand that has developed nearly all of its latest connected groupsets around a digital platform called AXS (pronounced access). AXS was a significant advancement that required collaboration across several product lines – road, gravel, MTB - enabling seamless wireless interaction across SRAM components and even some non-SRAM devices. Whether enabling new novel bike builds by physically using parts across different product lines (using mountain bike parts for "gravel" bike builds) or digitally customizing their experience through mobile app-enabled advanced features (such as customized shifting and button assignment), AXS components make that happen.
Since introducing the first AXS products in 2018, SRAM has continued to develop and extend the platform to new products, such as the groundbreaking Flight Attendant mountain bike suspension system. In addition, our custom wireless platform continues to be the market standard for seamless integration of bike technology.
About WiST
Women in Sports Tech (WiST) is a nonprofit organization that drives transformative growth opportunities for women in sports tech and innovation, at all stages of their career, from the classroom to the boardroom. WiST develops and delivers innovative programs, original content and a global community that provide tangible value for women and employers alike.
Its flagship initiative, the WiST Fellowship program, provides internship experiences and grants for highly motivated college and graduate school students to pursue summer projects in sports technology. Additional WiST programs include the WiST Next Gen Resource Hub “Discover Sports Tech” for high school students, the original content series WiST Presents, and the WiST NETWORK career hub, the single source for diverse hiring in the sports tech industry.
WiST is supported by donations from numerous corporations and organizations, including AEG Worldwide, Catapult Sports, Comcast NBCU, DICK’S Game Changer, FEVO, IBM Sports, NBA, Nike, Oracle, PointsBet, Stats Perform, Shorewind Capital, SRAM, Strava, Titleist, and more. WiST has “provided an array of diverse panelists for learning experiences at Hashtag Sports, CES, SIGA, SXSW, the Stanford GSB Sports Innovation Conference, and more. For more information, please visit womeninsportstech.org.
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