Why Gender and Social Inclusion in Transport?

JEFF TURNER Consultant Gender and Social Inclusive Transport Workshop

24-25 May 2012 ADB HQ Manila

The views expressed in this paper are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries listed in this paper do not imply any view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.

Social Exclusion: Theoretical Definitions

Social exclusion is not just the same as poverty or material deprivation An individual is socially excluded if (a) he or she is geographically resident in a society and (b) he or she does not participate in the normal activities of citizens in that society. (Le Grand 1998)

a recognition that it is, at least in part, about what people have done to them. (Murray, 1998)

Who does transport & exclusion from society interact?

The exclusion processes (Church et al, 2000)
Physical exclusion Physical and psychological barriers Geographical exclusion Peripherality Exclusion from facilities Facility flight and food deserts Economic exclusion Job search and work travel Costs: time and income; locations

Who does transport & exclusion from society interact?

Time-based exclusion Time scheduling and network constraints; Trip-chaining and carers Fear-based exclusion fear and social characteristics Internalisation Space exclusion Surveillance and management of public space increasing access and reducing ownership

Social exclusion: some implications for transport

Exclusion from transport infrastructure and transport services may affect peoples ability to access everyday activities Institutions can exclude some social groups and individuals by the transport decisions they make Transport decision-making processes can exclude the voice of certain groups, such as women and the poor

Gender & Transport Theoretical Perspective

Gender is a construction of the societies in which we live and work, it defines the roles both men and women play, differs from society to society and has implications for both men and women
Womens multiple roles within these societies impose on them a heavier time, travel and transport burden than that of most men

Introduction of Gender Analysis

Womens Triple Roles
Productive Role
(Wage labor, agricultural production, marketing)

Reproductive Role
(Child-care, collecting water and fuel, escorting household members to access services, household maintenance)

Community Role
(managing community and social relations and networks, community meetings and action)

Gender & Transport

Gender differences in time use patterns and time poverty Gender differences in use of modes Gender differences in travel patterns Gender difference in access to resources for travel Gendered differences in acceptability to access public space

Transport & Economic Exclusion

World Bank Urban Transport research show lower income urban households make the reduced number of trips Also show the slower modes used, particularly the focus on walking. However. data is dated and largely represented as ad-hoc and often not repeated. Few travel surveys in which low-income communities are included. It is often argued low-income households spends significant proportion of income on travel

Transport & Physical Exclusion

Transport & Physical Exclusion

Populations across Asia are getting older Traditional household care patterns are changing How can older people access service and maintain social networks as their physical mobility and resources decline? Social Isolation is a challenge for health and well-being

Transport & Physical Exclusion

Childrens labour forms part of the transport system of many developing countries. Children often provide infrastructure services that are otherwise provided by pipes. For social sustainability, transport system must relieve children of this burden through the provision of infrastructure. Childrens transport geographies are ripe for inclusion in a social sustainability framework.

Transport & Physical Exclusion

15 per cent of the total world population, more than 1 billion people, have a disability. For example, in the Philippines, 14 million people with a disability, more than 80 percent of whom live in rural areas. What is the legacy of landmines on levels of impairment?

Transport & Vulnerable Road Users

Research highlighted the potential of road accidents to increase poverty Over half of the households in Bangladesh who had family members involved in serious accidents and were now poor, were not poor prior to accident

Why Is this Important?

Transport systems that fails to incorporate social sustainability:
Place unnecessary burdens on an economy through significant transaction costs for people accessing economic opportunities May make transport services unaffordable to large percentages of the population

Why Is this Important?

Will fail to deliver equitable access for all with negative results many other areas of policy (e.g. Health, education, agriculture etc) Will neglect vulnerable and excluded people such as the older and disabled people, often overlooked in transport policy and planning; Will be unable to provide effective transport safety and security awareness programs, particularly for those most at risk.

There is a way forward

Poverty, social and gender problems in the transport system go undetected and uncorrected Systematic representation of different social groups on user groups would help correct this situation Different social groups could be appropriately represented on user and on focus groups to ensure relevant design and service feedback is provided The collection of high-quality poverty, social and gender data is now possible and the need for this analysis is a growing popular demand