Gender equality – The daily blog of behavioral and cognitive economics

Female Mountain Bikers Backflip Their Way to Equality

The women were competing, finally, at Red Bull Rampage, considered the biggest and gnarliest mountain-bike competition in the world. At the bottom, Katie Holden was overcome by the moment. For years, Holden, a 39-year-old mountain-bike athlete and advocate, had led the push for this gender barrier to fall. Now it had, in the Utah desert near Zion National Park. “Women are in Rampage now,” she said, soaking in those words and smiling through tears. “This is all we wanted.” Rampage, a chart-your-own course “freeride” event, began in 2001. But it was only for men, and it stayed that way even as it grew into the sport’s most feared, most anticipated spectacle. ….[READ]