‘It’s a man’s world’: a gender-equitable scoping review of gender, transportation, and work

Abstract

The deeply embedded inequalities in gender which mark most contemporary societies have led to a world shaped by male perspectives. This world fails to accommodate adequately the needs and experiences of women: no more evident than in the transport sector, where a ‘default male’ perspective dominates the planning and policies that shape our roads, railways, airlines, and shipping. This paper argues that the ways in which masculinity infuses transport systems mean they are integral to debates on gender and work. They impact both the way women experience travel and their access to places of work. A multi-transport domain scoping study has been conducted to review the literature for key gender factors that influence the use of road, rail, aviation, and maritime transport modes. A multi-disciplinary approach is proposed which incorporates perspectives and methods from the social sciences that can help to foster Gender-Equitable Human Factors (GE-HF). Practitioner summary: This paper seeks to identify the gender issues related to transport and work. A scoping review provides key factors that detail how women are disadvantaged by current transport systems. It presents gaps in knowledge that future research needs to fill. Women must be included in key decisions within the transport sector.