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The state of California has nearly 37 million residents — and scores of League Cycling Instructors. But how many of those certified bike educators are women? Melissa Balmer of Women on Bikes SoCal in Long Beach did some digging and discovered, in Southern California, there are just 20 female LCIs. This week, her organization launched an effort to change that.

Launched in November 2012 with the aim to encourage, engage and empower women to bicycle, Women on Bikes SoCal is a collaboration of Bikeable Communities, Bikestation, Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal of Long Beach and the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. Though still in its early stages, WoBSoCal charged out of the gate with a bold agenda and innovative inaugural campaign: Let’s double the number of women and girls riding bikes by 2017. On Monday, they launched Phase 1 of their efforts by announcing the first-ever women-only LCI certification training.

Backed by scholarships, 12 women will be chosen for the program and, in return, will donate 25 hours of bike safety training to their communities. With a target training date of June 2012, Chris Quint, whose traffic video Cyclists’ Eye View is included with all training materials provided to LCI’s by the League of American Bicyclists, will serve as the lead trainer for the program, with the support of three female LCI’s.

So how does training women to teach increase female bicycling mode share? As the Alliance’s 2012 Benchmarking Report highlights, women accounted for only 24 of bike trips in 2009. And, according to Andrea White-Kjoss, founder and COO of BIkestation, empowering female instructors is key to closing the bicycling gender gap. “Bicycling is intensely personal, and it follows that, though there is overlap, the needs and desires of bicyclists differ by gender,” White-Kjoss said. “Women trainers have a distinct connection to what it takes to cycle as a woman — and they will create a curriculum that addresses the needs of women cyclists and will teach in ways that resonate with other women. It’s called targeted marketing, and it works.”

Jen Klausner, Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, agreed. “As an LCI, a coach, and a longtime observer of the gender gap among bicyclists, I’m proud to be part of this very beginning of a program with great promise,” she said. “This is an unprecedented opportunity for women interested in the growing bicycle culture to really be on the forefront of social change, by earning the certification and then contributing to a regional campaign aimed at getting more women on bikes.”

Stay tuned to Women on Bikes SoCal for updates. And check out the latest edition of their e-magazine, which features Klausner and Alexis Lantz of the LACBC (pictured).

And, if you haven’t already, sign up for the first-ever National Women Cycling Forum on March 20, 2012, here in Washington, DC.