Transportation

Citation:

Mitra-Sarkar, Sheila, and P. Partheeban. 2009. “Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here: Understanding the Problem of ‘Eve Teasing’ in Chennai, India.” In Women’s Issues in Transportation - Summary of the 4th International Conference. Vol. 2. Irvine, California: Transportation Research Board.

Authors: Sheila Mitra-Sarkar, P. Partheeban

Abstract:

Fear of victimization and crime are important concerns for women in cities around the world, and this fear is provoked through encounters with men in public space because they are “unpredictable, potentially uncontrollable and hence threatening.” The South Asian literature has focused more on the subordinate role of women in Indian society and the workplace than on gender-based crime (referred to as “Eve teasing”) in the public spaces and transportation systems in South Asia. The objective of this paper is to elicit information on sexual harassment faced by women commuters in Chennai, India. The study found 66% of the surveyed respondents had been sexually harassed while commuting. Many of the respondents first encountered sexual harassment during their adolescent years. Very few (5% or less) found any of the modal choices to be best. The largest number of women (more than 40%) rated their worst harassment experiences to be in buses and trains with no separate sections for women. The paper offers other findings on the nature and frequency of sexual harassment and suggestions to address these incidents. (Abstract from original source)

Topics: Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Infrastructure, Transportation, Sexual Violence, Male Perpetrators, Rape, SV against Women Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India

Year: 2009

Citation:

Jenkins, Pamela, John L. Renne, and John Kiefer. 2009. “Gender Differences in Self-Reported Evacuation Experiences - Analysis of the City Assisted Evacuation Program During Hurricane Gustav.” In Women’s Issues in Transportation - Summary of the 4th International Conference. Vol. 2. Irvine, California: Transportation Research Board.

Authors: Pamela Jenkins, John L. Renne, John Kiefer

Abstract:

The landfall of Hurricane Gustav in 2008 set in motion the New Orleans, Louisiana, City Assisted Evacuation Plan (CAEP), one of the largest publicly assisted evacuations in American history. The gendered response to the Hurricane Gustav evacuation is placed in the aftermath of the evacuations of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Findings from two sets of data, including interviews with Katrina evacuees, suggest that significant gender-based differences exist in evacuation experiences. Women have significantly less access to a reliable vehicle for self-evacuation, making them more dependent on a viable CAEP. Women are also significantly more likely to depend on non family entities such as social service agencies for enrollment in CAEP. Overrepresentation of female heads of households in vulnerable communities makes lack of adequate finances a significant barrier to evacuation. While almost three- quarters of the CAEP participants for Gustav were satisfied with CAEP, women were significantly more likely to report dissatisfaction. 

Topics: Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Gender Roles, Gender Balance, Infrastructure, Transportation Regions: Americas, Caribbean countries Countries: Cuba

Year: 2009

Citation:

Greico, Margaret. 2006. “Gender, Transport and Social Empowerment: Investigating the Consequences of the Interaction Between Gender and Constrained Mobility.” In Naturbilder Und Lebensgrundlagen - Konstruktionen von Geschlecht, 53. LIT Verlag Münster.

Author: Margret Grieco

Topics: Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Infrastructure, Transportation

Year: 2006

Citation:

Graglia, Amy Dunckel. 2013. “‘Pink Transportation’ in Mexico City: Reclaiming Urban Space through Collective Action against Gender-Based Violence.” Gender & Development 21 (2): 265–76. doi:10.1080/13552074.2013.802131.

Author: Amy Dunckel Graglia

Abstract:

Women-only transportation has become a popular option for urban women around the world who are tired of being groped and harassed in buses, subways and taxis. The separation of men and women in public transit is controversial among feminists, since it does not address or solve the fundamental issue of gender inequality which causes violence and harassment. However, less addressed among feminists is how violence makes women afraid to act collectively. To support them, the state can play a role in setting up measures to protect them, while they confront their attackers. This article shows how women’s organisations in Mexico City use women-only transportation to create a safe place for female commuters, where municipal and state authorities have developed ‘pink transportation’. This includes segregated transport together with wider changes to laws, provision of support for victims of violence, and positive images of women which help women act collectively against violence. Pink transportation has catalysed creating wider conversations about gender discrimination, women’s rights and gender equality in media and society.

Topics: Development, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gender Analysis, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Infrastructure, Transportation, Violence Regions: Americas, North America Countries: Mexico

Year: 2013

Citation:

Njoh, Ambe J. 1999. “Gender-Biased Transportation Planning in Sub-Saharan Africa with Special Reference to Cameroon.” Journal of Asian and African Studies 34: 216–34.

Author: Ambe J. Njoh

Abstract:

The paper discusses transport problems facing women in Cameroon. Among major factors contributing to these problems are: societal attitudes, urban-biased development schemes, gender based discriminatory transport policies, inappropriate spatial organization, and negative trends in the country’s economy. The author argues that the uniqueness of women-specific transport problems warrants special and calculated action on the part of planners and policy makers in a developing nation such as Cameroon. Remedial steps, such as altering societal attitudes, lessening and simplifying women’s chores, promoting non-motorized modes of transport, reducing trip volume and length by, for instance, revamping antiquated zoning ordinances, and actively discouraging gender-based discrimination in public transportation through appropriate legislation, are suggested.

Topics: Development, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gender Analysis, Gendered Power Relations, Infrastructure, Transportation Regions: Africa, Central Africa Countries: Cameroon

Year: 1999

Citation:

Scheiner, Joachim, and Christian Holz-Rau. 2012. “Gender Structures in Car Availability in Car Deficient Households.” Research in Transportation Economics 34 (1): 16–26. doi:10.1016/j.retrec.2011.12.006.

Authors: Joachim Scheiner, Christian Holz-Rau

Abstract:

This paper studies the intra-household allocation of cars in car deficient households from a gender perspective. An individual’s car access is measured in terms of duration of car use over a week. Car deficient households are defined as households with fewer cars than drivers. We develop a set of hypotheses that serve to explain gender differences in car availability, and empirically test some of these hypotheses by using multiple regression analysis. The data we use is the German Mobility Panel 1994–2008. Our findings provide evidence for the importance of social roles and economic power in intra-household negotiations about the limited resource of the household car. We cannot clearly decipher whether patriarchal structures and/or gender preferences are relevant as well, but our data suggest that both may play a role.

Keywords: gender, Car availability, Car deficient households, Time use, Intra-household car allocation

Topics: Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gender Analysis, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Gender Hierarchies, Infrastructure, Transportation

Year: 2012

Citation:

Porter, Gina, Kathrin Blaufuss, and Frank Owusu Acheampong. 2012. “Gendered Patterns of IMT Adoption and Use: Learning from Action Research.” Research in Transportation Economics 34 (1): 11–15. doi:10.1016/j.retrec.2011.12.005.

Authors: Gina Porter, Kathrin Blaufuss, Frank Owusu Acheampong

Abstract:

This paper illustrates the value of using an action research methodology to improve understanding of gendered patterns of adoption and non-adoption of Intermediate Means of Transport (IMTs) and similar gender-related transport issues. It presents results from a novel action research project undertaken in five farming villages in southern Ghana, a region where IMT usage is currently low. The participatory action research study not only revealed important issues around differences between stated preferences and actual gendered patterns of adoption and non-adoption in the particular context of southern Ghana, but offers a methodology which may have value in many other gender and transport contexts across sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.

Keywords: action research, gender, women, transport, IMT, Ghana

Topics: Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Infrastructure, Transportation Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Ghana

Year: 2012

Citation:

Hodgson, Frances. 2012. “Escorting Economies: Networked Journeys, Household Strategies and Resistance.” Research in Transportation Economics 34 (1): 3–10. doi:10.1016/j.retrec.2011.12.010.

Author: Frances Hodgson

Abstract:

This paper is an exploration of strategies used by households to ensure safe journeys for household members. It has been long been argued that women's travel demand is suppressed. There is no doubt that this is an important issue simply on the grounds that women make up one half of the population but it is also timely and pertinent for policy makers and practitioners as legislation at national and international level asserts and legitimates rights to access, safety and security as demonstrated in the European Union's assertion in the 2007 Green Paper that “Every EU citizen should be able to live and move in urban areas with safety and security”. An understanding of social networks, reciprocity and exchange within and between households is integral to our understanding of travel demand. This paper, through an exploration of micro-social practices, identifies competencies and strategies, such as skills of transaction negotiation, scheduling among household members and across households, escorting, social synchronisation and cost sharing in women's travel, which add to our theoretical understanding of household coping strategies and practices to overcome exclusion. This paper brings together contemporary and historical evidence on the strategies and competencies used by women and in households to ensure safe travel for household members. There is a paucity of data on networked practices and resources which impacts on the efficacy of social policy and societal aspirations for sustainability and inclusion.

Keywords: Travel demand, women, Networked practices, access, Safety

Topics: Gender, Gender Roles, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Infrastructure, Transportation, Security, Human Security

Year: 2012

Citation:

Porter, Gina. 2011. “‘I Think a Woman Who Travels a Lot Is Befriending Other Men and That’s Why She Travels’: Mobility Constraints and Their Implications for Rural Women and Girls in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Gender, Place & Culture 18 (1): 65–81. doi:10.1080/0966369X.2011.535304.

Author: GIna Porter

Abstract:

This article is concerned with the implications of practices, politics and meanings of mobility for women and girl children in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Women and girls commonly face severe mobility constraints which affect their livelihoods and their life chances. The article reflects on their experiences in rural areas where patriarchal institutions (including the gender division of labour, which places great emphasis on female labour contributions to household production and reproduction), and a patriarchal discourse concerning linkages between women's mobility, vulnerability and sexual appetite, shape everyday social practices and material inequalities. This compounds the physical constraints imposed by poor accessibility (to services and markets) associated with poor roads and inadequate transport in both direct and more complex ways. The article draws on field research conducted in diverse socio-cultural and agro-ecological contexts in western and southern Africa (principally southern Ghana, southern Malawi and northern and central Nigeria) to explore the impacts of relative immobility and poor service access on women and girls. Three (interconnected) issues are examined in some detail: access to markets, access to education and access to health services. Possible interventions to initiate positive change are considered. (Abstract from original source)

Keywords: gender, mobility, markets, education, health, promiscuity, transport

Topics: Civil Society, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gender Analysis, Femininity/ies, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Health, Infrastructure, Transportation, Sexuality Regions: Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa Countries: Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria

Year: 2011

Citation:

Fernando, Priyanthi. 1998. “Gender and Rural Transport.” International Forum for Rural Transport and Development, Gender Technology and Development, 63–80.

Author: Priyanthi Fernando

Abstract:

Rural transport issues have only recently received the attention of transport planners and technologists. This paper draws on existing literature and the author's own ex perience with Intermediate Technology programs to illustrate the gender inequalities in the distribution of the transport burden among women and men in rural house holds, and in the provision and use of transport technologies. Typically, women spend more time and energy than men on transport tasks and have less access to the means of transport, to infrastructure and to transport services that can help reduce this effort. This depicts a considerable waste of human energy on what is, essentially, low productive activity. The author argues that the non-economic nature of women's transport tasks and the low participation of women in the decision-making processes that prioritize and design interventions have constrained the implementation of more appropriate transport strategies. There are however new planning methodologies and a growing body of practical examples of innovative projects that can have (and have had) a positive impact on women. The paper argues not only for the integration of gender into transport strategies, but also for the inclusion of transport issues into strategies that seek to empower rural women. It concludes by identifying some key areas for future research and action.

Topics: Development, Gender, Women, Men, Infrastructure, Transportation

Year: 1998