Business Case: Transport
The transport sector drives economic growth and is a critical partner in tackling carbon emissions and climate change. While globally women are more reliant on public transport than men are, a more inclusively-designed sector could make it safer, more efficient, and user-friendly, boosting ridership, generating profits, and driving economic growth.
Scroll down
transport
The Gender in The Transport Sector Business Case presents the strategies for integrating a gender-balanced perspective in the transport sector workforce and leadership, ridership, and among community stakeholders impacted by transport projects.

KEY FINDINGS
Equitable Transport Keeps Communities Moving

01
Access to safe and accessible public transport is a key catalyst for increasing women’s labor force participation.
Ensuring that transportation systems work for women is critical to supporting their full economic and social engagement. Increasing women’s employment in the sector itself is a key starting point.

02
Gender-equitable transport workforces improve safety, community satisfaction, and overall ridership.
Increasing the talent pool by having more women candidates makes it more likely that candidates will be a good fit for transit companies.

03
Recognizing differences in women’s mobility patterns can help increase ridership.
Designing routes, schedules, and payment mechanisms with women’s constraints and preferences in mind leads to financial benefits for transport companies.

04
Including women in transport project planning and implementation improves project outcomes.
Companies can avoid shutdowns, protests, and money wasted on ineffective community development initiatives by considering women as distinct community stakeholders.
Strategies to address gender gaps
Transport companies should develop gender action plans that help recruit and retain women and ensure that their needs as service users are addressed.
Measure gender equality and connect it to tangible business benefits.
Increase women’s participation in roles throughout the sector.
Ensure that women’s needs as users are addressed through design features and contractual requirements.
Increase representation of women’s perspectives in community engagement and planning.
Measure gender equality and connect it to tangible business benefits.
Increase women’s participation in roles throughout the sector.
Ensure that women’s needs as users are addressed through design features and contractual requirements.
Increase representation of women’s perspectives in community engagement and planning.
Fast Facts
Women’s voices must be heard—as transport employees and users.
34%
The World Economic Forum found that women in the mobility sector occupy 34% of staff roles but only 21% and 13% of middle and senior level roles, respectively.
Source: World Economic Forum
>50%
In many regions globally, including Latin America and the Caribbean, women are the majority of public transportation users, but transport systems do not always take into account their unique safety and accessibility issues.
Source: IDB
16.5%
Limited access and lack of safe transport are the greatest obstacles to women’s involvement in the labor force and reduce the probability of participation by 16.5%.
Source: United Nations
70%
Over 70% of women in Karachi, Pakistan have experienced harassment in public transportation. A sizeable number reported reducing their use of public transport as a result.
Source: ADB
1.78 trips
Average daily trips for women after becoming parents, up from 1.57 without children. Men’s trips remain constant at 1.73 with or without children.
Source: SUTP
16 countries
Have at least one legal restriction that prevents women from performing tasks in the same way as men in the transport sector. For example, in Azerbaijan women are not allowed to drive a train or bus with more than 14 seats.
Source: World Bank