UCI has achieved the first level of professional gender equality certification as part of its strategy to develop women's cycling through the internal implementation of relevant equality policies. The sport's governing body underwent an independent audit through FLOCert in September to certify against the internationally renowned EDGE certification standards and was awarded the Level 1 Assess award on October 23. As [UCI's first female Executive Director, I am very proud that our federation has achieved EDGE certification. We are working on an ambitious project to make the UCI an exemplary international sports organization in terms of internal governance." In this context, the theme of gender equality is a priority and we will continue to work on this goal in order to develop a policy that will guarantee the well-being, equality and promotion of all employees by 2021."

EDGE certification is recognized worldwide as a tool for closing gender gaps within organizations and companies. There are three levels of professional gender equality certification: Assess, Move, and Lead. According to its website, the certification levels are based on objective and measurable evidence of the current status quo within the organization, established global standards of excellence, and independent audit reviews that look at transparency, accountability, and ability to create change based on iterative processes.

UCI selected FLOCert, a third-party certification body, from among those proposed by EDGE. They were evaluated on three criteria: statistical data and regulations on gender, age, origin, and job flexibility, as well as a survey of employees. The certification process measures the organization's gender balance, the importance of unexplained gender pay gaps indicating equal pay for comparable work, policies and practices that demonstrate equitable career flows for both men and women, and an inclusive corporate culture.

UCI is currently the only international sports federation to receive the EDGE certification assessment award. However, it can only remain at Level 1 for six years before moving to Level 2: move or lose its status altogether; UCI aims to move to the next level within two years and has already begun that process.

To achieve the move, UCI will implement an internal organizational policy that encompasses job flexibility, equal pay for men and women, prevention of all forms of harassment in the workplace, and promotion of diversity and integration.

"This certification is the latest in a series of measures to ensure gender equality in our sport. This is especially true at the level of athletes, with the introduction of a minimum wage for women's professional road cycling this season and increased protection for athletes, as well as at the level of governing bodies, which need to increase the proportion of women in management positions."

Laura Weislo of CyclingNews has examined the UCI calendar, rankings, and other statistical data in detail to show the state of road racing over the past decade. The data showed that the total number of UCI race days in all five categories (elite men, elite women, U23 men, and junior men and women) had not changed over the decade, but had been redistributed.

Data show that there were almost 1,500 UCI race days worldwide in both years, but in 2010, elite men's races accounted for 80.3% of the total calendar; by 2019, this had dropped to just under 73.2%, but still a huge mark over women's elite races.

Women's elite races were 8.2% of all UCI races at the beginning of the decade, but had increased to 15% by last year.

This data shows that equality within the sport still has a long way to go and there is much work to be done to close the gap.

The data shows that the elite women's race calendar within that category has strengthened over the past decade. One-day races have increased, with the number of UCI sanctioned events going from 34 to 90 in the past 10 years. Stage races increased by 60.67% from 89 race days in 2010 to 143 race days in 2019.

Nevertheless, the data also showed that stage races have become shorter overall for women in terms of days.

In November, however, the UCI came under fire when the National Olympic Committees announced their quotas for athletes to compete in the road events at the Tokyo Olympics, with 130 slots reserved for men and 67 for women.

This historic lack of equality in the field size of road events at the Olympic Games raised many questions about the UCI's commitment to equality in professional cycling. In response, the UCI told Cycling News that it aims to have full equality in road cycling quotas for men and women by the 2024 Paris Olympics.

La Partiendo announced its commitment to gender equality two years ago through Agenda 2022, which included structural reforms to develop gender equality in the organization and in sport.

Starting with the UCI, it committed to implementing a charter to promote gender equality. There is a strict code of conduct aimed at raising awareness of harassment and an updated and improved code of ethics.

"On the ethical side, a core area of EDGE certification, we have already introduced significant changes to the UCI Code of Ethics to enhance athlete protection. We are also raising awareness among UCI women's team members and reminding them of the importance of ethical principles," a UCI spokesperson told Cycling News.

As part of the reforms, the new two-team system in women's cycling requires the top WorldTour teams to pay their riders a minimum salary. However, the minimum salary is not the same as the men's WorldTour minimum: it starts at €15,000 (employed) or €24,600 (self-employed), with the goal of being equal to the men's professional team minimum by 2023 The UCI standard contract currently includes maternity leave and other social social benefits are included.

The UCI plans to provide 45 minutes of live television coverage at all Women's World Tour events in order to increase the sport's visibility at the highest level.

In addition to these changes, the UCI plans to revise its Statutes to allow it to set new requirements for minimum representation of each gender in the governing bodies of the UCI, continental federations, and national federations.

"By UCI President David Lapartient's 2022 Agenda and in line with the work of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), this (EDGE) certification reflects the UCI's commitment to achieving the highest standards of governance for international sports federations by gender UCI," a UCI spokesperson told Cycling News.

According to ASOIF (the International Association of Summer Olympic Federations), the UCI is one of the top five federations in terms of governance, and gender equality is an important factor in this assessment.

EDGE certification is a commendable step for the UCI to be recognized for its efforts to achieve professional gender equality within the organization, but it has not yet necessarily translated into equality within the sport at the athlete level.

Positive change often starts at the top, and the UCI told Cycling News that steps toward gender equality internally will have a direct impact on national federations, athletes, events, and teams in the future.

"The changes brought about within the UCI are aimed at establishing good practice guidelines to be chained through the various layers of cycling organizations worldwide," a UCI spokesperson told Cycling News.

"The principle of gender equality, which guides our internal governance, reflects the priorities given outside the Federation to the development of women's cycling at the athlete level: prize money, salaries, working conditions, participation quotas and media coverage. This recognition is the latest in a series of steps to ensure gender equality in our sport."