How can Gender Smart Mobility become a More Intersectional form of Mobility Justice

Abstract

This paper discusses ethical issues relating to equity in smart mobility (SM) with a focus on the intersections of gender, race and class. The H2020 TInnGO (Transport and Innovation Gender Observatory) project, in which this work was undertaken, was built around the concept that Gender Smart Mobility (GSM) requires not just the development of smart mobility but the application of gender and diversity mainstreaming.
 The paper is set against a background of slow but steady progress towards gender equality in transport, where women in the EU now account for between 22-27% of the transport workforce, and their multimodal journeys are underserved by current transport provision. Gender and diversity mainstreaming recognises the importance of applying intersectionality in creating fair and equitable transport services which can reduce the vulnerability of certain groups to social-exclusion related transport poverty. Although championed by the EU as an objective of transport policy, Gender Mainstreaming (GM) has had limited uptake at national level and has been criticised for its oversimplification of gender, and prioritisation of gender over other factors.
 Incorporating intersectionality into transport policy can build on advances already made by GM However little work has been conducted in this area. Therefore, we have discussed how an intersectionality-based policy analysis framework used in health can be applied to this area.
 The paper argues for wider use of intersectionality (i.e., gender and diversity mainstreaming) in the SM sector and how it can be operationalised to create more equitable transport and societies. The discussion is timely given the disproportionate impact of COVID-19.