GENDER AND TRANSPORT
Muneeza Mehmood Alam Economist, Transport, World Bank
Matias Herrera Dappe Senior Economist, World Bank
Shaping women’s access to opportunities: Gender, transport, and employment in Mumbai Where I work is strongly determined by work timings, transport to and from office, and time taken and distance to get to office. - Working woman, Mumbai, India
I take my kids to tuition center and prefer those within walking distance. If the tuition center is far away, then auto rickshaw is more suitable due to lack of bus service.” Housewife, Mumbai, India We often heard statements like these during a survey we conducted in Mumbai, India on the role of transport in shaping women’s access to economic and social opportunities. They reflect the different mobility choices and experiences women face compared to men, and how these mobility patterns have evolved in India’s largest city. There is increasing global recognition that women experience mobility differently from men. Lack of access to transport and mobility shape women’s access to public
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URBAN TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE MAY 2021
services—especially to education and health. In turn, this lack of access to markets, employment, and skills affects their livelihoods, influencing not only their individual quality of life, but also that of their families. The study conducted in Mumbai documents the differences in men and women’s mobility patterns and the changes in these patterns as the city has developed. It also explores whether the lack of access to mass transit limits women’s labor force participation in the Greater Mumbai Region (GMR). Four results emerge from the study: First, the differences in mobility patterns of men and women reflect differences in the division of labor within households. The study finds persistent differences in the mobility patterns of men and women. These differences partly reflect differences in household responsibilities and labor force participation rates. In 2019, only one-fifth of women in Mumbai were employed. In the same year, 80 percent of men’s trips were work related compared to only 17 percent for women. Half of women’s trips were for shopping or transporting children to and from schools or tuition centers. Second, men and women choose different modes of transport even when commuting for the same purpose and this impacts their access to opportunities. Both men and women who commute for work, spend the same
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