Women and transport 
Mobility is gender specific

The European Commission

by Alfonso Gonzalez Finat

 Source: http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/growth/gcc/projects/women-finat-profile.html

As Director of the EC Transport and Energy Directorate B's key action on Sustainable Mobility and Intermodality, Gonzalez Finat must be aware of the civic and societal concerns of both men and women in Europe.

" Transport is a sector which aims to serve all citizens - men and women alike," says Gonzalez Finat, "In developing transport technologies and policies it is therefore very important that we assess all possible gender implications."

"When we look at patterns of mobility we can see a great difference based on gender, reflecting the different distribution of responsibilities among men and women.
Women with dependent children tend to choose complex short distance journeys, which are also multistage and multipurpose. Men, on the other hand, show a higher incidence of more linear, single-purpose journeys. The same applies if we consider the different roles of men and women play within the transport sector. Today, less than 30% of car owners in the EU are women. This figure is constantly increasing and will be one of the key driving factors of our future motorisation growth. At the same time, women represent about 60% of public transport users, but their involvement as transport planners and decision-makers is still very limited.

Mobility is gender specific

"Transport planning and research have traditionally been male-dominated sectors, given their strong reliance on technology and engineering. However, policy makers have a growing interest in looking at the broader socio-economic impact of transport. Investments and regional employment, the effects of emissions on health, institutional and political barriers to implementation, are all examples of concerns that should be included in technological research. This broadens the competencies needed for good planning and research to areas where women have traditionally been better represented and it has already led to an increased participation of women researchers in projects.

"Because of the recognised different mobility patterns, women's and men's perceptions of problems and issues differ, as do their proposed solutions. It is therefore important to have a balanced representation of both women and men throughout the whole research and policy process, from the formulation of research questions to the translation of research results into policy actions. Only in this way will a gender unbiased policy agenda emerge."