A London council has been forced to apologise after a report claimed electric bikes could help women “stay looking nice” and “perform their traditional domestic responsibilities”. The Liberal Democrat-run Kingston Council published the wording in an equality impact assessment for an e-bike rental contract. The report stated that e-bikes “may increase women’s access to cycling and physical activity by making it easier for women to meet their traditional domestic responsibilities, as well as stay looking ‘nice’ on a bike”.
The backlash was immediate. One resident raged on Facebook, calling it “Kingston Council E-Bike sexist horror” adding “Weep, women of Kingston; weep!” Another woman, who complained directly to the council, said: “There is no place for this kind of disturbing statement to be made in today’s society at all, let alone in an equalities impact assessment.” She accused the council of “treating women as second-class citizens”.
“Kingston Council apologised after an e-bike report said they help women 'stay looking nice' and perform domestic duties.”
The council initially defended the wording as a direct quote from a peer-reviewed academic paper published in Active Travel Studies in 2021. The paper reportedly said electric bikes “strengthened and confronted gendered mobility”. But in a statement on its website, Kingston Council conceded: “This description does not align with the council’s commitments to fairness, inclusivity and protecting the rights of all women and girls. We would like to sincerely apologise for this error and for any offence caused.”
The report was subsequently revised. The new wording reads: “E-bikes may increase active travel amongst women as well as the wider population by for example enabling carrying of goods or shopping and allowing more complex trip chaining that people with caring responsibilities may face more regularly.” But the change did not mollify critics. The same resident wrote on social media that the revised version “still frames women in terms of assumed roles, rather than providing a balanced, evidence-based assessment”.
The council also confirmed it would review the procedures used when conducting Equality Impact Assessments in the future. The original report had also claimed e-bikes were “challenging sexism in cycling in important ways; making bike retail and repair environments more inclusive for women, challenging sexism in bike design and marketing and increasing women’s sense of confidence and entitlement to occupy the road space. They are also opening up more empowering and enjoyable opportunities for physical activity to a wider group of women.” But it was the line about domestic responsibilities and looking “nice” that sparked fury. A council spokesperson said they accepted that using the quote “especially in isolation and without reference, is likely to cause offence, therefore it should never have been included in the EQIA.”