EVENT RECAP: She ACTs – Accelerating Carbon-neutral Transportation with a Gender Perspective
Photo provided by GIZ China.
Raising Awareness for Inclusive Decarbonisation Pathways
Around the globe, women are constantly on the move– heading to work, fulfilling caretaking roles, travelling for leisure. Access to affordable and safe mobility depicts one of the key determinants for household economic wellbeing and development (World Bank 2016). And yet, the diversity of needs and requirements of all travelers, regardless of their gender, age or disability, are still insufficiently accounted for in conventional transport planning. For the longest time, the design of transport systems, services and vehicles has mostly catered to a predominantly male population, following linear travel patterns in work commutes with private (motorised) vehicles.
“With currently only about 17 % of the global transport workforce being female, there are significant potentials for more participation in shaping green mobility of tomorrow from the get-go.”
Particularly in the quest for a low-carbon transformation of the transportation sector, interlinked with an expansion of public transport, New Energy Vehicles (NEV) and the promotion of active mobility, including walking and cycling, unleashing the potential of all user groups remains vital in boosting low-carbon transport uptake, development and innovation. With currently only about 17 % of the global transport workforce being female (OECD 2020), there are significant potentials for more participation in shaping green mobility of tomorrow from the get-go.
Joining the Dialogue: She ACTs Event on Accelerating Low-Carbon Transport with a Gender
In order to promote the low-carbon transformation of transportation whilst better integrating gender-responsive measures, the NDC Transport Initiative for Asia’s (NDC-TIA) China Component project team invited experts and practitioners from the fields of low-carbon development and sociology for a joint discussion on 1 of August, 2023.
Under the theme of “She ACTs – Accelerating Carbon-neutral Transportation with a Gender Perspective”, the event offered a safe space for 25 invited guests, including researchers, transport planners and practitioners as well as representatives from several multilateral development banks and the German embassy, to share about main challenges and opportunities to enhance the gender-inclusive character of climate action and policies in the transport sector in China.
“There is an urgent need for more discussions of gender equality in the low-carbon transformation of transportation, not only to learn from others’ best practices in safe and sustainable mobility offers, but equally to support more women in their career paths in the industry.”
At the event, Urda Eichhorst, Project Director of the NDC-TIA, highlighted gender-specific travel patterns and the subsequent need for adapted transport planning and public services. There is an urgent need for more discussions of gender equality in the low-carbon transformation of transportation, not only to learn from others’ best practices in safe and sustainable mobility offers, but equally to support more women in their career paths in the industry.
“...in policy design, transportation planning, and employment issues, more female voices and perspectives should be incorporated, whilst gender differences necessitate more attention”
Zhang Yuntian from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) then introduced the trends and policy recommendations for carbon reduction in the transportation sector based on previous NDC-TIA project research. China's carbon reduction in the transportation sector can be achieved through the promotion of new energy vehicles, structural optimisation, and vehicle energy efficiency improvement. Objecting previous study findings to a gender-integrative approach, he noted that in policy design, transportation planning, and employment issues, more female voices and perspectives should be incorporated, whilst gender differences necessitate more attention.
“Indeed, inclusive strategy formulation should prepose gender analyses as a comprehensive tool to account for gender-specific policy impact, outputs and outcomes in a timely manner...”
In an extended keynote speech, Dr. Wang Huijuan, Senior Social Advisor for various multilateral development banks, introduced the linkage between gender and climate change from a sociological perspective, she explored gender equality issues in the transportation sector in China, and provided case studies to develop recommendations for inclusive carbon reduction strategies. Indeed, inclusive strategy formulation should prepose gender analyses as a comprehensive tool to account for gender-specific policy impact, outputs and outcomes in a timely manner, adopt inclusive transportation technologies, and support women's participation in the transportation field. Importantly, gender equality remains crucial for the emission reduction and sustainable development of the transportation sector, and efforts need to be made to ensure that fairness is given the highest priority in transportation decision-making.
During a subsequent discussion session, participants shared about their experiences and expressed their perspectives on both existing obstacles for women’s participation and improvements through increasingly accessible transport facilities and supporting services. The exchange touched upon the importance of gender-disaggregated data collection, sound gender analyses as well as the window of opportunity for more accessible, gender-inclusive future mobility provided by the current NEV expansion.
What next?
Gender equality on the pathway to low-carbon transport thrives off an open discussion, growing alliances, more awareness and data collection. Joining existing networks, such as the NDC-TIA Women on the Move – Transport in Asia can be a first step to connect with other women in the transport sector, find inspiration through mentorship and networking sessions, and contribute to a growing community of changemakers.
Deep diving into more reading material, the most recent GIZ publication on gender and transport from a comparative perspective in China, Vietnam and India, offers a practical overview of the status quo of gender inclusion in the respective transport sectors.
Becoming an active observer of potential inaccessibility, inequality or inconveniences in daily (low-carbon) transportation serves as a crucial basis of sensitisation towards more inclusion in the design of sustainable future mobility systems – to move what matters.
Authors: Carolin Bernhard
