Urban Mobility versus Gender, and Care

Transport infrastructure and services are the means to improve the well-being of all groups of the population, including women, men, children, the elder, and people with disabilities. However, they are often incorrectly considered “gender-neutral. In fact, mobility is socially determined by gender roles related to reproduction, production, and community. The relative economic, social status, and gender roles, as well as livelihoods of women and men also influence the different needs and usages of transport services. The gender dimensions in public transportation should become more evident when its investment can be viewed in terms of facilitating the mobility of people for various purposes and needs as well as in different modes, in which women and men, children and elders could differently experience – rather than just simply investing in hard infrastructure that equally benefits all groups of the population. The inadequate design of public transport infrastructure and services will constrain women's access and limit the positive distributional impacts of urban public transportation. Integrating the gender focus into the transport policy dialogue and planning procedures could promote equal economic opportunities for the entire society in expecting to unlock barriers to women’s economic potential.
In English