Many people recognize transport as gender neutral – though in fact, it´s not! Gender is a transversal dimension of social life and impacts travel behaviour, patterns, needs and accesses. Women and men have different pre-conditions, needs and restrictions for using transport. This has to be taken into consideration for all transport planning and projects to adequately meet the demand and to assure that transport is efficient and sustainable.
Heather Allen is an international consultant on the topic and will point at that “tiny little difference” when it comes to transport and examine disparities in transport requirements of men and women, and Sonal Shah, Senior Manager at ITDP India, will introduce a policy approach to women and transport in Indian cities along with the use of SafetiPin as an approach to improve security in transport.
In this webinar, we will jointly explore how gender issues pursue sustainable urban mobility in very practical terms. You will learn about gender considerations in transport planning, design and operation and we will hear about safety and security aspects in transportation. In a dynamic session, participants will have the possibility for immediate questions.
For warming up, find out more on women and transport with our factsheet from the iNUA series, take a look at the SaftiPin application, or read our recent interview on women and cycling in India.
Yours sincerely,
the SUTP-Webinar-Team
Background
Just as transportation systems define the structure of the city, gender defines the structure of society. Women face more restrictions to mobility, and their travel patterns differ from those of men due to their differences in needs and tasks, and also because they generally have less time available and access to resources. At the same time, women are in higher risk of being victim of crime and violence. Therefore, women have different requirements of transport systems and space, and these diverse perspectives need to be integrated into planning. Without this, transportation, planning and projects will not adequately meet demand.
Mayors as well as administrations play an essential role in making transport gender sensitive, and gender must be considered in all stages of the planning process: data collection, planning and design, implementation and monitoring. Key issues to be tackled are the support of women’s participation in decision-making, the improvement in accessibility, safety and comfort of transport modes and the planning of transport services in response to gender needs.
Not including gender in transport planning, design and operation leads to inefficiencies in the transport system, to economic disadvantage and limitation of potential.
To find out more about the specifics of gender in transport this webinar will share knowledge, examples and innovative ideas from around the globe for inclusive and safe transport.
Questions we will explore include:
- What exactly are the differences in gender and transport use?
- How can you measure and evaluate gender in transport?
- What are good examples to learn from?
- What does this mean for decision-makers?
- What lessons can be learnt for other countries or regions?
- Where can I get more information?
Speakers
Heather Allen is an independent consultant with more than 20 years international of experience and is a highly regarded expert in gender, urban transport, sustainable development and climate change. She has worked at UITP, the International Association of Public Transport and with the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory’s Sustainable Transport Group. Since becoming an independent consultant, her projects include an international review of women’s personal security, gender and urban transport and a major study on this in three Latin American Cities (Buenos Aires, Quito and Santiago).
Sonal Shah is an architect and urban planner. Currently she is the Senior Manager of the Institute of Transportation and Development Policy, where she is guiding the urban planning and gender strategy, projects, research and capacity building initiatives. She has issued various publications on such topics, among others the Women and Urban Transport Policy Brief together with Safetipin. Prior to her current position, she has worked as an independent consultant, and a consultant for the Indian Institute for Human Settlements.
Save the date and join the flone initiative on November 22nd – 23rd in Nairobi for this first annual conference with transport workers, researchers and policy makers on how to support women in public transportation in the region!
