An Introduction to Gender and Mobility in Emerging Economies

Learn why gender matters in transport and mobility

Throughout history, transport policies and services have almost always been designed by and for men. There is now a growing awareness among researchers and policy-makers that ignoring women’s needs can impact their ability to use transport.

On this four-week course from the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative, you’ll learn why gender matters in transport and mobility. Focusing particularly on emerging economies, you’ll explore what happens when we bring gender and mobility issues together, and how gender-sensitive planning could improve transport access for everyone.

Examine mobility patterns and needs among women

You’ll start the course by examining women’s needs, patterns, and priorities in relation to transport. Taking a firmly international focus, you’ll look at case studies from cities across the globe.

You’ll understand why women’s needs differ from those of men, and how current transport models may be failing women. You’ll also explore the connection between gender, poverty, and transport.

Explore ways of improving female representation in the transport sector

Beyond gender biases affecting individual services, women are also under-represented in the transport sector as a whole.

Week 3 of the course will look at the barriers women face in accessing senior positions in transport, and strategies for encouraging women to work in the sector.

Understand the importance of gender-sensitive planning

In the final week of the course, you’ll look to the future of a more inclusive transport sector.

You’ll learn what it means to gather gender-inclusive data and make gender-sensitive decisions in order to reduce inequality across mobility systems.

At the end of the course, you’ll join other learners to discuss how you can apply your expertise in workplaces all around the world.

This introductory course is designed for anyone interested in learning more about the importance of gender equity and inclusivity in transport and mobility systems. It will provide a strong foundation in these issues for anyone involved in transport, mobility, urban planning, policy development and/or implementation across government, non-profit and private spheres.

Learners are not required to have any prior knowledge in the fields of gender or mobility to enrol in this course.

• Why women’s mobility and transport needs must be met
• Welcome and outline
• Discover why gender matters in mobility and transport
• Investigate why transport systems have been designed around the mobility needs of men
• Understand why meeting women’s needs leaves no-one behind
• Recap and test your knowledge
• What are women's mobility patterns and needs?
• Welcome and outline
• Understand the mobility patterns of women, giving personal examples
• Recognise the link between trip purposes and travel patterns
• Demonstrate the safety-related mobility needs of women using supporting data from your city or town
• Assess and share your own safety-related mobility needs
• How to encourage more women to work in transport, and why this matters
• Welcome and outline
• Explain why we need more women in transport and mobility positions
• View the current picture of women working in mobility and transport
• Identify the barriers to women wanting to enter the transport sector
• Apply your new knowledge to a local case study
• When and where to collect data for gender-sensitive decision-making
• Welcome and outline
• Describe the nature of gender-sensitive data
• Explain the process of collecting gender-sensitive data
• Understand how to use gender-sensitive data for planning and implementation
• Apply your skills to facilitate change