• A new bill signed into law on Monday in California requires all sports competitions held on public lands in the state to offer equal prize money for men and women.
  • Local and state permits will only be offered for events that offer equal prize money.
  • The law does not require equal participation for men and women’s sports events—just that the ones that do offer a women’s pay out the same prize money as they do in the men’s division.

Professional cycling just got a little more equal—at least when it comes to prize money: A new bill was signed into law on Monday that requires sports competitions held on public lands in the state to offer equal prize money for men and women.

Entitled “Equal Pay for Equal Play” (AB 467), the new law is the result of almost five years of effort from a diverse community of advocates. For cyclists, the law would apply to most road and mountain bike races, since these events typically take place on public roads or in state-owned parks.

Here’s what you need to know about California’s AB 467, what it means for cycling—and what comes next.

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How “Equal Pay for Equal Play” Works

The key element of AB 467 is the recognition that cycling and many other sports events take place on public property. A downtown criterium, for example, requires closing public roads to hold the race.

Local and state officials issue permits to the race organizers that govern everything from road use to safety to noise restrictions.

Now, in order for the permits to be granted, events must require gender equality for any prize money offered.

“The department shall require as a condition of a permit for any event that awards prize compensation to competitors in gendered categories, for any participant level that receives prize compensation, that the prize compensation for each gendered category be identical at each participant level,” the law states. “The department shall not approve a permit for an event that does not comply with this condition.”

How “Equal Pay for Equal Play” Began

The impetus for the law and its grounding in public land use originated in a dispute over a big-wave surf contest. In 2014, big wave charger Bianca Valenti asked what it would take for the organizers of the Mavericks surf contest—a legendary, invite-only event that attracts a hardcore group of surfers—to include women. At the time, the event only included 24 men.

At a 2015 Coastal Commission hearing, San Mateo County Harbor District commissioner Sabrina Brennan cited a California law prohibiting discrimination based on gender and argued that because public permits were needed for the event, it should be required to include women. The Commission ruled that the surfing event must include women the next year.

In the meantime, Brennan, Valenti, and a close-knit group of big-wave surfers created the Committee for Equity in Women’s Surfing. They set out to secure equal access to competition, equal prize money, and inclusion. Their efforts mirrored advocacy efforts by women athletes across multiple sports—including women’s cycling.

In 2018, the Committee convinced the State Lands Committee and the Coastal Commission to require equal pay-outs at Mavericks as a condition of the event permit.

That victory raised the issue’s profile and caught the attention of State Assembly member Tasha Boerner Horvath, who introduced AB 467 in February of this year.

“I really feel that when we are on California public lands, I feel that our legislation has to reflect our values,” she said to The Coast News Group. “Those values are equity, equality, and inclusion.”

Signed into law by California governor Gavin Newsom on Monday, AB 467 takes effect in January of 2020.

What Comes Next

While the law ensures equal prize money, it falls short of requiring equal participation. An event organizer could still avoid offering equal prize money by not holding a women’s event in the first place. In fact, the original battle over the Mavericks Invitational was not about prize money, but about ensuring that women had the opportunity to compete.

In a speech before the California Assembly in April, Brennan urged an expansion of AB 467 to address this aspect of gender equity in sports. “Equal pay is only part of the problem,” Brennan said. “Increasing the number of events and awards for women, as well as offering equal prize money, is the only way to achieve meaningful equity in competitive sports.”

For cycling advocates, this question of equal opportunity remains a livewire. Though the Amgen Tour of California began offering equal prize money in 2018, women ride fewer stages than men.

Long-time women’s cycling advocate Kathryn Bertine wants to change that. “Paying the women ‘equally’ for three days isn’t equal,” Bertine told Bicycling. Shorter races mean fewer opportunities for women to compete, and add up to less prize money than the men earn over the course of their longer events.

The “Equal Pay for Equal Play” law represents an important step forward for women’s sports—but the quest toward equality still continues. Bertine is optimistic. She views the passage of AB 467 as a powerful lever to pry loose more opportunities for women athletes.

“There is no reason we should have to work so hard just for women to be seen, heard, and invested in as equals,” said Bertine. “Now we can lobby to fix this inequity.”