WE CAN DO MORE. THIS IS JUST A START.

At SRAM, we believe in the power of bicycles and expanding the potential of cycling. However, we know we must back statements with meaningful actions to affect change. Over the last few years, we have increased our internal diversity, inclusion, and equity work at SRAM. Admittedly, our focus was primarily on gender diversity. With that, we realize we must do more. Here are some of the ways we have taken action against inequality in cycling and beyond:

 

INSIDE SRAM

 

DEI TRAINING

We are providing our employees training on diversity, inclusion, and implicit bias. We have sought out the best partners and have allocated funds to do this in the most effective and meaningful way. As of October 2021, we have facilitated two DEI training courses (6 hours per course) for U.S. team members. The second phase has extended to team members in Europe and Asia.

 

SRAM CORPORATE PLAN 

Improving diversity, equity, and inclusion at SRAM is a key priority in our corporate plan and strategy. We have created a DEI Council to serve as an internal steering committee. The DEI Council includes a representative from our three areas of focus – BIPOC, Women, and Allyship.

 

Additional corporate commitments include:

• Joined training provided by the Bridge Project on Diverse Hiring Practices. This public-private partnership helps create inclusive hiring pathways for job seekers and companies in the conservation and outdoor industries.
• Hosted ten talented summer interns across our U.S. locations with broad representation: 30% were women, and 50% were people of color.
• Leveraging diversity dashboards to make our internal diversity/representation and candidate pipeline data visible to SRAM's leadership and hiring managers. We created a dashboard specific to our engineering function that shows the available engineering graduate pool's internal and external demographics. These tools help managers increase awareness, help identify and utilize best practices, and create action plans where we need improvements.
• Continue to leverage Mentorship Rings facilitated by SRAM leaders as a development tool to enhance leadership skills for women at SRAM and help all SRAMmies build relationships and networking.
• Expanded the job boards where we directly post openings. Boards include Grow Cycling Foundation, Camber Outdoors, and Handshake as we work to broaden our reach to attract diverse candidates to open positions.
• Partnering with Chicago's Christ the King Jesuit High School's long-standing Corporate Work-Study Program to provide professional work experiences to two Chicago-area high school students for the 2021-2022 school year.

 

We know that there are gaps in our understanding and expertise around DEI. We will identify new partners who can help us become more inclusive for under-represented groups in our company and the industry.  

 

SRAM ATHLETE CODE OF CONDUCT 

In 2020 we updated our code of conduct policy moving forward, and every athlete and ambassador will sign a contract that includes the following language that is in line with our team member handbook:

Anti-Harassment and Discrimination Policies: SRAM's policy is to foster spaces (virtual and physical) free from harassment and any other form of discrimination. Accordingly, SRAM has zero-tolerance for harassment in any form or other such unlawful discrimination. Anyone in violation of this policy will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination. 

 

 

OUTSIDE SRAM

 

COMMUNITY INVESTMENT

SRAM is committed to investing in people and programs that support DEI-positive efforts globally. We have also increased our investment in relationships with BIPOC athletes and ambassadors because we believe representation in cycling matters and is an essential part of making cycling a more inclusive space. Learn more about SRAM’s athletes and ambassadors here.

 

Since June 2020, we have increased our financial commitment to diverse groups in cycling and have exceeded our stated goal of a $100,000 increase in funding specific to BIPOC groups. Some specific DEI-driven community investments we have made include:

 

• Supported the Big Fix Day organized by the Brown Girl Bike in the Uptown area of New York City on September 11th, 2021. The contribution and product helped repair hundreds of bikes in an underserved community, allowing them to safely continue using their bikes as a necessary means of transportation.
• Became a sponsor of the MACC One Love Century event in the Atlanta, GA metro area, the gathering place of Major Taylor clubs from several states. This charity ride supports numerous organizations in the Atlanta metro area and the southeast, creating opportunities to get more people on bikes.
• We awarded $15,000 to Wyoming Pathways to support development of the Wind River Tribal Trail Plan.  The plan is for a system of natural surface trails for biking and walking on the Wind River Reservation.  The reservation is home to the Eastern Shoshone and the Northern Arapaho tribes.
• Awarded the Los Angeles Bicycle Academy (LABA) a grant to support their youth education programs, youth racing, and community outreach efforts. LABA's mission is to educate, develop, and empower underserved youth between the ages of 12-18 through the power of the bicycle.
• Supported "Thee Abundance Summit" and its mini-grant program. The summit was a virtual event led by SRAM Ambassador Ayesha McGowan and was a "celebration and convening of Black and Brown folks in the outdoors." The mini-grants program enabled eight adults and one youth to race in the Tour of America's Dairyland. The amateur and beginning racers received entry, housing, transportation, food stipends, and additional resources to ensure it was a rewarding experience.
• Became a platform sponsor of The Cyclists Alliance Mentorship Program (TCAMP). This new program will help attract more women to professional cycling, connect junior riders with more experienced riders, and help riders plan for their post-racing careers. In addition, SRAM will have the opportunity to provide mentorship, training, and development programs and other professional opportunities for women cyclists.
• Contributed to a public mural honoring Marshall "Major" Taylor in his hometown of Indianapolis, IN. Major Taylor was a Black bicycle racer who won a world cycling championship in 1899. He was a tireless advocate for racial justice throughout his life and career.
• Supported Tlaatsgaa Development's The Turtle Island Tour, a bikepacking pilot tour focused on how to be a good guest on Indigenous lands, as well as Haida community leader Nangghaahlaangstangs' advocacy efforts around Black and Indigenous men's mental health
• Doubled our annual support to QBP's Community Grant program for 2021. This program works with suppliers and bike shops to create and encourage ridership among youth and underserved populations while improving the industry's sustainability and inclusivity.
• Partnered in an event supporting Colorado's Kids on Bikes and L39ION of Los Angeles' mission to get more kids and kids of color on bikes in underserved and underprivileged communities in the Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and the Woodland Park communities of Colorado. Additionally, Kids On Bikes hopes to spark an interest in road riding and racing within the communities they serve.
• Funded the Underground Railroad Ride film project, documenting activists' bikepacking trip from Mobile, Alabama to Washington, DC, along the historic route.
• Sponsored the "Cycling at the Intersections" virtual event, a live discussion about the experiences of Black trans, femme, women, and non-binary cyclists.
• Assisted the 1919 Chicago Race Riot Route campaign, a six-week drive to raise awareness for an important event in Chicago history and fundraise for Blackstone Bicycle Works, a local non-profit/ bike shop helping BIPOC youth through educational and vocational programs.

 

We continue to seek opportunities to invest in a broader spectrum of diversity initiatives in the cycling community. We have bolstered and diversified our community programming staff to help us make the most impactful investments.

 

 

BIKE ADVOCACY

SRAM partners with bicycle advocacy groups that support a collective DEI effort. North American efforts activities are highlighted here, but there are significant ongoing efforts globally. 

 

• We actively participate as members and on boards of organizations dedicated to inclusion within the greater outdoor industry. Part of our criteria for advocacy organizations we fund includes eliminating racism in cycling, amplifying the voice of BIPOC advocates, promoting cycling to BIPOC individuals and communities, and promoting gender equality and access.
• We fund national MTB advocacy groups, including IMBA US, IMBA Canada, and NICA, to provide more BIPOC riders with better access to trails where they live. Key strategies for accomplishing this include more outreach to land managers like cities and park districts, building more bike parks in the center of underserved populations, redirecting funding streams to specific areas of need, and expanding programming into low-income and BIPOC communities.
• We support national commuting and recreational riding advocacy groups like PeopleForBikes that are working to achieve mainstream growth in the U.S., with cycling demographics more closely reflecting national demographics.
• SRAM also supports local organizations such as Chicago's West Town Bikes and Blackstone Bicycle Works. These organizations serve BIPOC communities primarily through a variety of youth development and education programs.
• Some specific SRAM-supported DEI-focused advocacy efforts include:
• CalBike's initiative "How to Meet Public Demand for Safe Bikeway Networks–Affordably, Quickly, and Inclusively."
• Active Transportation Alliance's development of a network of community groups to push for the equitable distribution of cycling networks 
• Big Marsh Bike Park on the Southeast side of Chicago
• The League of American Bicyclists' work with bike clubs focusing on resources primarily serving BIPOC communities.

 

SRAM continues to work with all of these partners to make DEI aspects of advocacy more effective and more integrated into overall work. Advocacy is the power to influence change. If our coalition is fully diverse and inclusive, we have more power, targeting the most resources to those who can benefit the most from cycling.

 

We acknowledge we still have a long way to go, but we will continue to Listen. Learn. Take Action.