Transport has a gender bias problem. This is what needs to change

Evidence from both developed and developing countries is showing that men and women have different patterns in traveling and accessing public spaces.

Women typically walk longer distances than men and make frequent, shorter trips with more stops to combine multiple tasks. Men, by contrast, tend to follow more direct and linear patterns. Females engage in more non-work-related travel than males and are more likely to be accompanied by children or elderly relatives. They are also more reliant on public transport.

Yet in most countries, transport infrastructure and services cater primarily to the needs of commuters who travel straight from their home to the central business district and back—an approach that largely overlooks the mobility needs and travel patterns of women.

For a long time, transport planning and design have paid little attention to gender. Public investments in transport are often made to meet the travel needs of adult men. For example, public investment in the lighting of bus stops is often ignored, even though many women regard it as a pre-condition to using public transport at night (instead of relying on a car).

The reason goes back to the decision-making process: how and by whom policy and investment decisions in transport are being made. Decisions are often made solely on efficiency (cost-benefit) considerations and tend to ignore or underestimate other key considerations, such as equitable access. Making public decisions based on a single goal is much easier than trying to reconcile multiple ones (e.g., equitable access and efficiency).

Additionally, the planning is rarely informed by data and evidence on gender-based mobility needs and experiences, a problem that is further reinforced by a predominantly male employee base. While factoring gender considerations into all transport-related policy and investment choices may seem like a challenge, the benefits to women and to society at large more than justify the additional complexity.

Incorporating gender-informed policies has many benefits and is crucial to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

For example, it is estimated that an additional 20+ million women would work in the transport industry if the sector achieved gender parity in employment. And of course, a more diverse transport workforce would go a long way in addressing the gender bias described above.

Additionally, women have more sustainable mobility habits (e.g., use of public transport, cycling, and walking). Preserving these habits by making the right investment choices (e.g., adequate sidewalks and bicycle lanes) will be critical to ensure a low-carbon future.

Conversely, neglecting the gender dimension of transport poses a significant risk to economic growth and equity, by constraining women’s access to education, skills, health, markets, and jobs.

"Without a solid commitment to gender mainstreaming, institutional strengthening, and gender budgeting in transport, progress toward the SDGs will inevitably suffer".

A key constraint is the lack of evidence and data to demonstrate how gender impacts transport. The World Bank’s IeConnect for Impact program seeks to close this gap. A recent thematic review on women’s access to public transport takes stock of what we know from the literature and highlights key program results. This exercise looked into several important issues, including how women’s safety in public spaces impacts their mobility:

Over the last few years, various groups and initiatives have emerged to improve our understanding of the gender dimension of transport, and elaborate policies to remedy the long-standing gender bias in transport policymaking (e.g., the Sustainable Mobility for All gender working group, the World Bank Transport Global Practice Gender Task Force, and the International Transport Forum (ITF) Gender Working group).

Sustainable Mobility for All established the first of these groups in 2018 by bringing together 18 international organizations and companies with a common interest in exploring the transport-gender nexus. The outcome of this initial work was a compilation of gender-responsive policy instruments from around the world. More recently, the group proposed a plan to pilot the application of these measures to the South African context.

In 2022, SuM4All will explore practical ways to enhance the role of women in the sector, with a strong focus on real-world examples and empirical case studies. If you are interested, we invite you to share your knowledge with other organizations and help us advance this important agenda.

Strong, courageous, innovative women have helped to transform the way we think about and use transport. Let’s make sure that we continue.