Overview
Transport is an essential bridge between people, opportunity, jobs and essential services.
When it works well, people can seamlessly get to where they are going without a second thought. Unfortunately, transport systems rarely work well, for everyone, all of the time.
Even while a greater number of countries invest in transport, especially in rapidly growing cities, not everyone benefits. Too often, systems are not built with the needs of everyone in mind and some people, particularly women, are left out.
The fact is that transport is not gender-neutral: men and women have different needs and travel patterns that require urgent attention. Men are more likely to drive private cars, while women are more likely to use public transport, often encountering barriers such as harassment, unsafe routes and poorly linked systems. Most of men’s trips are direct, and for work, while women often “trip chain:” make multiple stops in a single journey to manage household and caregiving responsibilities.
With improved mobility, more women can access employment, education, and healthcare, which boosts their quality of life and that of their children. In this way, transport systems that address women’s unique mobility needs help foster economic growth. They also support positive environmental outcomes, such as improved local air quality.
Women are significantly underrepresented in the global transport sector workforce, especially in mid and high-skilled technical roles and among management. Barriers to women’s participation in the transport sector are present within each stage of the employment lifecycle, including in relation to women’s attraction, recruitment, and retention; policies and practices in the workplace; and leadership and career progression. Regulatory frameworks in some economies also hinder women's participation by restricting access to specific jobs in transport. These disparities lead to inefficiencies and talent misallocation, which erode employers’ ability to improve decision-making, innovation, and financial performance.
As we work towards more equitable and efficient transportation systems, it is crucial to address the disparities that exist between women and men in the sector. She Drives Change: A Toolkit on Redefining Opportunities for Women in Transport serves as a vital resource for transport professionals and policymakers dedicated to bridging these disparities.
This toolkit offers a structured approach to identifying and addressing the unique challenges women face across various transport subsectors, including urban transport, rural and peri-urban roads, rail, aviation, maritime transport, and economic corridors.
The toolkit is built upon the World Bank’s deep commitment to creating opportunities for women. It provides analysis of common barriers, a set of actionable interventions designed to address these challenges and indicators to track progress.
By recognizing and addressing the unique barriers women face in the transport sector, we can unlock their full potential, enhance their contributions to the economy, and create the sector that is both innovative and equitable for all.
How to Use the Toolkit
This web-based, interactive version of the toolkit serves as a dynamic and continuously evolving resource, ensuring that users have access to the most up-to-date and relevant examples. As a living document, the online toolkit will not be static; rather, it will be updated with new insights, best practices, and innovative approaches as they emerge, making it an indispensable resource for transport planners and gender specialists.
Chapters
Chapter 1 provides rationale behind the inclusion of a woman’s perspective when designing transport operations, highlighting the benefits and necessity of such an approach.
The following chapters (2–7) explore targeted interventions aimed at addressing the constraints women face across six transport subsectors: urban transport, rural and peri-urban roads, rail transport, aviation, maritime transport, and economic corridors.
Each subsector focuses on specific challenges in three key areas: mobility, employment, and entrepreneurship. The depth of discussion of each topic varies depending on its relevance to the subsector.
Intervention Tables
Each chapter presents a range of interventions tailored to the subsector, with corresponding output and outcome indicators. These indicators should be treated as a menu of options for consideration, which should be tailored to the specific country and project context, rather than the mandatory set that should work in each context.
Case Studies
Chapters draw on practical experiences and insights from the implementation of initiatives that address disparities between men and women in mobility, employment, and entrepreneurship in the transport sector. Projects that have effectively addressed or are addressing these disparities are showcased through examples and what works. Importantly, common challenges faced during these initiatives are also discussed, alongside solutions developed to overcome them.
Case studies were chosen based on their adoption of innovative approaches that address disparities between men and women in transport. A strong results chain was a key criterion, meaning the selected projects clearly articulated the specific constraint, incorporated targeted interventions, and included indicators in the results framework to measure progress in reducing the gap.
To ensure variety and broad applicability, examples were selected from different transport subsectors and various geographic regions, highlighting a range of contexts and solutions. Additionally, preference was given to projects with several years of implementation, ensuring that sufficient time had passed to demonstrate tangible results and lessons.
Source Material
The toolkit is primarily based on a review of the World Bank’s transport portfolio, supplemented by a few examples shared by other development agencies. While some indicators may be difficult to adopt due to the lack of baseline data or challenges in measuring results, the toolkit provides a comprehensive list of both tested and aspirational indicators for practitioners to consider when data availability allows.
Learnings & Lessons “Gender Tag” disclaimer for World Bank staff
This toolkit provides targeted interventions and indicators to improve transport planning and operations by addressing gender differences in mobility access, usage, and employment opportunities. However, these interventions and indicators do not automatically meet the criteria for gender tagging in World Bank transport operations. World Bank teams should continue consulting with Global Department specialists and the Gender Group to ensure alignment with the latest tagging requirements.
The toolkit does not strictly follow the Gender Tag methodology for several reasons:
- Evolving methodology: The tagging framework is continuously updated, and indicators previously eligible for tagging may no longer qualify.
- Broader scope: The toolkit covers a wide range of transport interventions, many of which extend beyond the scope of gender tagging, addressing other critical gender inequalities in transport projects.
- Context-specific tagging: Gender tagging depends on the specific context of each project and country. Simply applying current tagging criteria would ignore broader socioeconomic factors.
The toolkit advocates for the removal of unnecessary barriers to ensure that all qualified individuals—men and women alike—have a fair opportunity to succeed and that efforts to increase women’s participation in the transport sector are rooted in meritocracy. The focus is on expanding access—not lowering expectations, and removing obstacles—not reducing requirements, ultimately fostering a stronger, more competitive transport workforce for the future.
| Acroynm | Meaning |
|---|---|
| BRT | Bus Rapid Transit |
| CCTV | Closed-Circuit Television |
| DIME | Development Impact Evaluation |
| ESG | Environmental, Social, and Governance |
| GBV | Gender-Based Violence |
| GDP | Gross Domestic Product |
| GPL | Gender and Policy Lab |
| HR | Human Resources |
| ICCC | Integrated Command and Control Centre |
| IT | Information Technologies |
| IWT | Inland Water Transport |
| MoUs | Memoranda of understanding |
| MTC | Metropolitan Transport Corporation |
| NGO | Non-governmental organization |
| NTP | National Transport Policy |
| PPE | Personal Protective Equipment |
| QII | Quality Infrastructure Investment |
| SEAP | Structured Engineering Apprenticeship Program |
| SHGs | Self-Help Groups |
| SMEs | Small and medium-sized enterprises |
| SMS | Short Message Service |
| SOPs | Standard Operating Protocols |
| STEM | Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics |
| TTL | Task Team Leader |
| TVET | Technical and Vocational Education and Training |
| WBG | World Bank Group |
| WENP | Women Entrepreneurs Networking Platform |
Authors and Acknowledgments
This toolkit was prepared under the guidance of Nato Kurshitashvili (Senior Transport Specialist) from the World Bank’s Transport Global Practice, with contributions from the following authors: Ursula Casabonne (Senior Gender Consultant), Mitali Nikore (Senior Gender Consultant), and Brinda Juneja (Gender Consultant).
The authors are grateful to the following peer reviewers from the World Bank for their feedback: Ana Waksberg Guerrini (Senior Urban Transport Specialist), Arturo Ardila Gomez (Lead Transport Economist), Karla Dominguez Gonzalez (Senior Transport Specialist), and Najibullah Ziar (Operations Officer).
The authors would also like to acknowledge Binyam Reja (Practice Manager, World Bank Transport Global Knowledge Unit) and Nicolas Peltier (Global Director for Transport, World Bank) for their support of this study.
The authors' sincere appreciation goes to the World Bank clients, project staff, and colleagues from development organizations whose insights and contributions enriched the project case studies.
The web-based version of this toolkit was developed and built by Benjamin Holzman (Communications and Knowledge Specialist, World Bank) and Jason Savino (Drupal Developer).
Lastly, the authors thank the Government of Japan for its funding of the toolkit through the Quality Infrastructure Investment (QII) Partnership.
What's New?
This section will feature a list of updates made to the web-based version of this toolkit.
Bibliography
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Ollivier, G., Mitali, N., and Sarah, N. 2022. Toolkit for Enabling Gender Responsive Urban Mobility and Public Spaces. Volume II: The ‘How-To’ Guide - Practical Tools for Implementing Agencies. Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022.
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Kurshitashvili, N., Karla Gonzalez Carvajal, Kelly Saunders, and Laila Ait Bihi Ouali. 2022. "Paths toward Green Mobility: Perspectives on Women and Rail Transport in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia." World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/9a4530f2-7927-5cc2-a73f-6c303319cae8
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Kurshitashvili, N., et al. 2025. Addressing Barriers to Women’s Participation in Transport: Global, ECA, and MENA Perspectives (English). Mobility and Transport Connectivity Series. Washington, DC: World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099010925132542721.
Sánchez de Madariaga, I. 2013. "The Mobility of Care: A New Concept in Urban Transportation." In Fair Share Cities: The Impact of Gender Planning in Europe, edited by I. Sánchez de Madariaga and M. Roberts, 1–15. London: Ashgate.
Shah, S. 2018. Women-only Transport: A 'Solution' To What End? Sustainable Transport. https://itdp.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Women-only-Transport.pdf.
World Bank. 2024. Women, Business and the Law. https://wbl.worldbank.org/en/wbl.
World Bank and EBRD. 2024. "Online e-learning training course 'Occupational Safety, Health, and Violence and Harassment: A Gender Perspective.'" https://wbg.edcast.com/channel/36106/home.
World Bank Group. 2024. World Bank Group Gender Strategy 2024 – 2030: Accelerate Gender Equality to End Poverty on a Livable Planet. Washington, DC. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/gender/brief/gender-strategy-update-2024-30-accelerating-equality-and-empowerment-for-all.
Contact
- For questions regarding the content of the toolkit, please contact Nato Kurshitashvili: nkurshitashvili@worldbank.org
- For questions regarding this website, please contact Benji Holzman: bholzman@worldbank.org