[1] In September 2013, Brian Cookson was elected president of the UCI – with his manifesto setting out improvements for women's cycling including a minimum wage, better television coverage, new races and better relationship between the UCI, teams and race organisers.

[5] The calendar for the inaugural season was announced in September 2015, including many of the longstanding one-day events from the UCI Women's Road World Cup (such as Trofeo Alfredo Binda and Tour of Flanders) as well as established stage races such as the Giro d'Italia Femminile.

The 2020 season was extensively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in two-thirds of the races on the calendar being either postponed or cancelled outright.

[13] The Giro d'Italia Donne was removed from the 2021 calendar after failing to provide adequate live television coverage for the 2020 edition of the race.

[21][9] Media noted that the "the Women’s WorldTour leader’s jersey never fully captured public attention".

[22] For events to be considered they must have reached the following criteria:[4] Updated: 2025 season: 9 February 2025 Riders in italics are no longer active.