Adidas’ New Initiative to Make Women Feel Safer While Running
If you are a woman, and you are also a runner, you have probably felt unsafe at some point on a run. There’s a good chance that you have been honked at by a passing car, catcalled, maybe even followed. Adidas, in an aim to reduce this problem, has launched an initiative to make women feel safer while running.
Image via Adidas
In a survey conducted by the brand of 9,000 runners across nine different countries, they found that 92% of women have felt concerned for their safety while running. 51% percent of women reported being afraid of being physically attacked, as opposed to only 28% of men.
Adidas found that 69% of women take safety precautions while running. Either by wearing one headphone, wearing loose clothing, sharing their location with a friend, or running in a group.
In an attempt to help women feel safer during runs, the brand has made it possible for runners to share their live location in the Adidas running app, and created a platform to help people find local community runs and run clubs.
Image via Adidas
Yet, while 62% of men demonstrated an understanding of this issue, only 18% feel that the responsibility falls to men to make women feel safer while running. It is because of this that Adidas launched its campaign, The Ridiculous Run. The ad shows women running with a fleet of protection around them, wearing just one headphone, loose clothing, and sharing their location. It aims to encourage men to educate themselves on the issue.
Finally, Adidas has developed a playbook as a platform to help men educate themselves. It has been used by the brand to train over 250 coaches and captains in the Adidas Runners community.
No, one corporate sportswear brand is not going to completely change the experience of being a female athlete, or even a woman on the street alone. Still, awareness and education is no small thing, and by directing their resources into tangible forms of allyship, Adidas may make an impact on the lives of many women.