Did you know that your gender could influence your choices in shared mobility?
Not so sure, you say?
At Mpact, we believe that shared mobility should benefit everyone equally. It is therefore crucial to address the existing gender disparities in the sector. Understanding the reasons behind these gender related gaps will allow us to find solutions while the shared mobility sector is still in its emerging phase. That’s why, in July 2023, with support from SPF Mobility and Transport, we launched the SMEP project (Shared Mobility Equity Principles).
SMEP is rooted in the observation of usage disparities between men and women in shared mobility and the political willingness to give a voice to Belgian students in how we tackle these disparities. The project has three key phases: research, guest lectures at universities and an online student hackathon.
Research phase
The first phase of research resulted in a scientific report on gender inequalities in shared mobility in Belgium and Western Europe. This work provided an overview of the current state of inequalities in the sector, their main causes, and existing solutions to reduce them.
The report notably concludes that the transport system as a whole has been primarily designed from a male perspective, neglecting the specific needs of women.
For instance, women tend to have more complex and interconnected travel patterns compared to men, largely due to their involvement in caregiving activities. According to a study conducted in Madrid, 40% of women’s travels were related to caregiving, whereas only 9% of men’s travels had a similar association. When it comes to activities such as driving children to school, visiting elderly relatives, or shopping, mobility needs are primarily concentrated in residential and peripheral areas. However, public transportation systems are generally designed to transport people from suburban or rural areas to city centres.
Part of the explanation for the lack of consideration for women’s needs lies in the fact that decision-making and employment in the mobility sector are still predominantly male-dominated, both in terms of workforce participation (19.4% in Belgium) and representation in ministerial positions (8% in a sample of 190 countries).
The study also reports that harassment remains one of the most significant issues faced by women when using public transportation (and to a lesser extent when using shared mobility modes).
The numbers speak for themselves. According to a study in France, 87% of female public transportation users reported experiencing sexual harassment, with 95% involving male perpetrators. When questioning young Belgians about their fear of harassment by mode of transportation, the percentage of young women feeling insecure in shared transport is, depending on the mode, between 2 and 8 times higher than that of young men surveyed. A consequence of these (sexual) aggression acts is that women tend to adapt their mobility behaviours to avoid situations where they might feel unsafe, such as travelling alone at night, entering nearly empty train cars, or crowded subways prone to unwanted touching.
However, there is already broad support, both from men and women, for specific measures aimed at increasing the safety of women during their travels. Examples include the night stop system (Canada, Sweden), allowing women travelling alone in the evening or at night to disembark between two stops to get closer to their home and thus avoid long journeys alone in the darkness. Another example are the exploratory walks that aim to gather information on safety concerns.
Guest lecture
The second phase of the project took the form of a theoretical and interactive course delivered by Mpact and a guest expert, Isobel Duxfield, in three Belgian universities (UCL Saint-Louis Brussels, Universiteit Hasselt, Vrije Universiteit Brussel).
These lectures allowed direct exchanges with students about their experiences, shared the scientific report’s conclusions, and invited them to propose actions to improve gender equality in shared mobility. With our guest expert, we also introduced key concepts for a more structural approach to gender and mobility.
One example is the concept of intersectionality, emphasising the importance of considering the plural identity (gender, race, disability, socioeconomic status, etc.) of each individual, not just one aspect, to better understand experiences in urban space and mobility. This implies recognizing that women (and men) are impacted by mobility systems individually in different ways, marginalised at different levels and under different circumstances when addressing gender inequalities in shared mobility.
We also pointed out to students that the issue of gender inequalities in mobility generally fits within the broader and very current framework of the Just Transition, touching on all its aspects and becoming a key subject to master in the years to come.
Online hackathon
The hackathon was attended by 24 students from five different Belgian universities (KULeuven, Thomas More University, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, UCL Saint-Louis Bruxelles, Université Libre de Bruxelles). The goal was clear: students had 23 hours, no more, to create convincing strategies to tackle gender inequalities in shared mobility in Belgium.
The hackathon started on the 29th of February at 7pm and finished on the 1st of April at 9pm. In these 23 hours, we gave the 4 student groups time to reflect and work on their action plans. To serve as inspiration, we organised online guest lectures, during which experts and decision makers shared their findings and experiences on the matter.
For instance, Liesbeth De Bruyn from the city of Gent gave a very inspiring speech about policy-making and influencing. Christy Pearson, Head of Central Policy for the micro & shared mobility operator Voi, presented the innovative approach of a private company with regards to gender equality. Students also had the chance to discover research results of both Erin Cooper’s work (KULeuven) – Does MaaS address the challenges of multi-modal mothers? User perspectives from Brussels, Belgium – and Hannah Hook’s work (UGent) on the impact of gender on travel behaviours.
The jury had to choose three winning teams based on a list of pre-established criteria like clarity, relevancy, feasibility, innovativeness, etc. The jury included Liesbeth De Bruyn and Christy Pearson but also Charlotte van Vessem and Juliana Betancur Arenas both PhD researchers at Mobilise VUB who work closely on gender topics from different mobility domains as well as Karsten Marhold, coordinator of (partnerships and institutional relations at) Mpact asbl.
All four groups did incredible work within such limited timing and it was hard for the jury to deliberate between some of them but the 1st place winning team definitely stood out. In addition to being rewarded with monetary prizes, the three winning teams were offered the possibility to present their plans to decision-makers representing each of the three regions during an online meeting (29/05/2024).
This hackathon was a knowledge-sharing success both for the students as well as for the experts and the Mpact team!
What comes after SMEP?
It is time to conclude where we started: with shared mobility equity principles. Thanks to our project we, the Mpact SMEP team, can offer some insights that should help public and private stakeholders to create policies and/or design mobility solutions that strive for gender equality in the shared mobility sector.
- Gender mainstreaming
We believe that gender equality should be thoroughly adopted within the policy field. As stated by the Belgian Institute for Equality between Men and Women, this ‘gender mainstreaming’ strategy aims at strengthening gender equality in society by integrating the gender dimension in the different domains of public policy. It thus consists of making gender and its implications visible as a societal mechanism during the policy-making processes. Gender disaggregated data collection needs to be pushed for to become the norm when collecting data in general.
- Co-creation all the way
We want to encourage co-creation processes that involve end-users not just through the occasional surveys but in the whole creation journey of mobility solutions. Yes, it takes a certain amount of time, energy and resources. But it makes the chances of success so much higher than with the usual consulting processes.
- Knowledge exchange, including with organisations
We strongly advocate for holistic and systematic collaboration when designing gender sensitive infrastructure. Research and theory from academic experts are necessary to design policies but there are also many organisations that are already working on the subject and have precious feedback to share with you. These same organisations also represent relevant contact points to get in touch with the citizens that are directly concerned by the matter. We thus encourage stakeholders and decision-makers to systematise seeking knowledge exchange from various field actors in order to build up comprehensive policies.
- Raising awareness with personnel and the public
We strongly advocate for the systematic training of staff members involved in shared mobility services and public transport. We would also like to see more awareness campaigns for the general public. We should not underestimate the importance of the human aspect in the mobility sector. In many situations (harassment in public transport, elderly women seeking her way at a bus stop, a mother in difficulty entering the bus with the trolley, etc), it is the behaviour of people around us that makes the difference in the end.
- Inclusive communication
We would like all stakeholders to stop with the “ticking the box mentality” or any type of “gender washing” as this kind of shallow policy has proven to be non-efficient. A first step towards concrete change would be the normalisation of inclusive communication. We recommend the use of toolkits. (click here for an example)
- Keep the policy up-to-date
Gender specific policy needs regular policy revisions & updates. As we hope that more and more data on gender will be produced, we believe that there is still an important margin for learning and improvement. Knowing that, we expect decision makers to keep up to date with regards to the evolution of this data.
- SDG 5: we are not alone in this fight
And finally, we want to remind you of the biggest principle of all in which we want to root all these principles: the SDG 5. We do not want to forget that Belgium is not alone in its fight against gender inequalities. Other countries of the United Nations strive for the same goal. We strongly recommend collaborations with public and private stakeholders from outside of Belgium as they definitely have relevant knowledge and best practices to share.
Interested in the results of this project or do you want to collaborate on the topic of gender equity in mobility?
Don’t hesitate to contact our colleagues who are working on this topic at Mpact.
See you soon!
Esen (NL/EN) – hackathon, guest lectures: Esen.Kose@mpact.be
Jelten (NL/EN/FR) – literature study: Jelten.Baguet@mpact.be
