Grey literature on transport.
Date: 2020-02-04
Institutions: European Institute for Gender Equality
Subjects: European Institute for Gender Equality, access to information, gender equality, gender mainstreaming, grey literature, library, participation of women, transport user

Resource and Documentation Centre

Grey literature on transport

What  is  grey  literature?  It  is  literature  produced  by 
non-commercial  publishers,  such  as  public  institu-
tions,  universities,  research  institutes  and  civil  soci-
ety.  It  contains  a  lot  of  useful  content,  but  is  often 
hard  to  find  as  it  is  scattered  across  different  loca-

tions.  EIGE  has  collected  grey  literature  on  gender 
equality  and  you  can  access  our  collection  through 
a  simple  search  interface.  EIGE’s  collection  of  grey 
literature  is  available  in  several  EU  languages  and 
documents come from all EU Member States.

The relevance of gender in transport

Transport  facilitates  access  to  the  labour  market, 
healthcare  and  education.  It  is  essential  to  improve 
the  welfare  of  individuals  and  households.  Transport 
is  not  gender  neutral  and  must  be  examined  using 
a gender lens.

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Grey literature in EIGE’s library

EIGE’s  library  hosts  one  of  the  largest  collections  on 
gender-related  literature  related  to  transport.  The  col-
lection  presents  good  practices  of  current  policies 
throughout Europe as well as gender indicators aimed 
at  assessing  gender  equality  in  transport.  Several  re-

sources  focus  on  the  ways  in  which  the  EU  has  main-
streamed  gender  into  policy  processes  for  transport. 
You will also find research reports and statistical doc-
uments  providing  data  on  key  gender  issues  related  to 
transport.

Differences in gender mobility patterns

The  patterns  of  how  women  use  transport  are  different 
from those of men because transport needs vary accord-
ing  to  different  social  and  economic  roles  and  accom­
panying activities.

Women  travel  shorter  distances  and  tend  to  stay  closer 
to home. They also use public transport more than men. 
Because women are more likely to be part-time workers 
they travel off­peak more often than men. However, they 
frequently  take  more  journeys  per  day  than  men  do,  as 
a result of care duties for children or other relatives. The 
travel routes women use are often unreliable and inflex-
ible; they are also more likely to be discontinued as they 
are less lucrative than the routes taken by men. Women 
therefore  support  a  disproportionate  share  of  the 
household’s  transport  burden  as  their  journeys  take 
longer and they have more limited access to available 
means of transport.

In  the  library  you  can  find  resources  examining  the 
gender  dimension  of  mobility  patterns,  including 

the  relationship  between  urbanisation,  transport  and 
care  work.  There  are  also  examples  of  gender-sensi-
tive  transport  networks  in  different  European  coun-
tries  and  cities.  Several  reports  also  stress  the  need  to 
enable women’s access to transport so they are able to 
access  social  and  economic  opportunities.  Resourc-
es also examine the difficulties faced by women in rural 
areas.

Reading list

Gender Equality Initiatives in Transportation Policy;

Civitas policy note — Smart choices for cities — Gender 
equality and mobility: mind the gap!!;

Mainstreaming  gender  in  road  transport:  operational 
guidance for World Bank staff.

 
Gender mainstreaming in planning and managing the transport 
system

Relatively  little  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  gender 
dimension  while  planning  and  managing  transport  net-
works.  The  gender  dimension  should  be  integrated 
into  all  phases  of  the  transport  policy  cycle  to  address 
women’s  mobility  needs.  This  can  be  done  through 
the  collection  of  data  disaggregated  by  sex,  gender 
analysis  of  urban  planning  and  better  representation 
of women in decision-making processes.

In  the  library  you  can  find  many  toolkits  for  transport 
sector  specialists.  These  show  how  to  mainstream  gen-
der  equality  issues  into  transport  project  design  and 
implementation,  as  well  as  ways  one  can  use  gender 
budgeting  in  transport.  Several  resources  provide  rec-

ommendations and examples of good practices, while 
other  resources  look  at  the  barriers  hindering  gender 
equality  in  decision-making  in  the  transport  sector. 
These  also  stress  the  importance  of  having  women  on 
boards of municipalities and in unions to improve trans-
port policies.

Reading list

Gender Tool Kit: Transport — Maximizing the benefits of 
improved mobility for all.

Gender-based violence in transport

Women  are  more  exposed  to  gender-based  violence 
when  using  different  modes  of  transport  than  men  are. 
For example, sexual harassment in buses or taxis. This 
constrains  their  mobility  and  negatively  impacts  their 
lives.  The  transport  sector  has  one  of  the  highest  inci-
dences  of  violence  suffered  by  women  while  exercis-
ing their work.

In our library you will find resources stressing the need to 
strengthen gender equality in public transport, taking into 
account  women’s  specific  safety  needs.  This  includes 
ways of combatting gender-based violence as well as pro-

tecting pregnant women. The research includes concrete 
examples  of  national  measures  to  improve  women’s 
safety, such as removing bushes next to bus stops and in-
troducing women-only taxis. Other reports explore work-
place violence against women transport workers.

Reading list

European Transport Workers’ Federation report: Violence 
against Women at Work in Transport.

About EIGE

The European Institute for Gender Equality is the EU knowledge centre on gender equality. EIGE sup-
ports policymakers and all relevant institutions in their efforts to make equality between women and 
men a reality for all Europeans and beyond, by providing them with specific expertise and comparable 
and reliable information on gender equality in Europe. With over 800 000 items, EIGE’s Resource and 
Documentation Centre is a one­stop shop for gender knowledge. Access our collection of policy docu-
ments, books, articles, studies, specialised databases and more at www.eige.europa.eu
© European Institute for Gender Equality, 2019

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

Contact details

http://eige.europa.eu/
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twitter.com/eurogender
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ISBN 978­92­9482­225­3  doi:10.2839/170677  MH­04­19­244­EN­C
ISBN 978­92­9482­227­7  doi:10.2839/302889  MH­04­19­244­EN­N

European Institutefor Gender EqualityGrey literature on transport