Why don't men and women mobilize equally in Latin American cities?

Millions of people in Latin America use the public transportation system as their main means of transportation, making it an essential tool to mitigate the territorial disparity that has historically generated conditions of exclusion in the cities of the region. 

However, transportation is not neutral to gender;  men and women have different social and economic roles in society, associated to the specific transportation patterns of use and movement, access, and needs. For this reason, the organization of land use, physical layout, and design of the transportation system and facilities do not affect them equally.   

Different studies show that the mobility patterns of men and women are different. The movement of women is conditioned by factors such as accessibility, affordability, efficiency, and the provision of physical safety by the public transportation system. Women tend to make more trips due to traditional gender roles, as they have to modify their trips to pick up their children, make errands, go shopping, or take on other family responsibilities. 

It has also been shown that women's accessibility is limited despite the existence of a transportation system, as it is generally not developed or planned to take them where they need to go, but rather, destination have been chosen for economic reasons.  

Although public transportation has contributed to the empowerment of women, it is also associated to harassment and gender violence. Women are more sensitive to safety problems, which affect their mobility, limit their capacities, their accessibility, and their participation in labor markets. In addition, they are frequently the targets of sexual aggressions, and their self imposed response measures significantly limit their mobility, and thus their own development. 

All types of gender violence have a direct influence on women. They reduce their confidence, limit their ability to move freely in public spaces, and limit their access to health and opportunities for education as well as the labor market. This increases inequity and social exclusion. 

At the same time, is it important to highlight that the transportation sector is dominated by men. This contributes to provide a limited opportunity for women to have an influence on the search and development of new strategies and public policies  for the design and planning of transportation projects that are gender sensitive and inclusive. 

Achieving a greater understanding of the relationship between gender, poverty, access, and use of transportation may help decision makers to develop more effective strategies for transportation planning that responds to the needs of all members of society. 

For this reason, CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, committed to social inclusion in the region, has started a study to collect data regarding the use and personal safety of women in public transportation in three cities of Latin America. The objective is to expand knowledge and build a solid base of proofs regarding transportation planning and gender sensitive operations, providing tools and financing for development agencies.  

This is going to be one of the topics that CAF will address in detail in the framework of Habitat III, the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, to be held in Quito between October 17th and 20th to plan the future of cities for the next 20 years. Social inclusion and productive transformation are essential crosscutting core concepts for the planning and integration of the territory, and are priorities for the Institution, which will address them through initiatives such as the program Ciudades con Futuro (Cities with a Future).

The inclusion of the gender approach in planning a public transportation system, and the implementation of specific actions that reduce the barriers to the access of women and responds to their needs, increases economic opportunities and with it, social inclusion.