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5 PleNARY SeSSION 1 Framing the Issues Susan Hanson, Clark University, Presiding Martin Wachs, RAND Corporation Ananya Roy, University of California, Berkeley The first plenary session explored the history and future of research on womenâs travel issues and the relationship between poverty, spatial disad- vantages, and womenâs transportation issues. womenâs Travel issues: CreaTing Knowledge, improving poliCy, and maKing Change Martin Wachs Martin Wachs provided an overview of existing research on womenâs transportation issues and identified some gaps. 1. A great deal has been learned during recent decades about gender differences in travel patterns in developed urban societies. Womenâs travel patterns are more com- plex, and the range is shorter. even though women make more trips, they are likely to be closer to home, which probably reflects womenâs great responsibility for the home and children. 2. Knowledge in developed nations is uneven. Research is needed about gender and mobility in rural areas (e.g., small towns and Indian tribal areas) and with respect to long distance (intercity) travel, non-work-related travel, and air travel. 3. Although more has been learned about traffic safety and gender, knowledge has not advanced nearly as much as knowledge about travel patterns and choices. It is known that women tend to be more safety conscious and less likely to exhibit risky behavior when traveling, but women are likely to live longer than men, so their safety and mobility needs are likely different among the older population. Some evidence supports the finding that given comparable crashes, women are more likely to be injured than men, but more work is needed in this area. 4. understanding of the historical evolution of rela- tionships between gender and transportation remains rudimentary. Research that takes a long look within a historical context is much more difficult. 5. Sufficient research on gender issues associated with employment and status advancement within the trans- portation industry is lacking. Scholarship is needed on the implications for men and women of shifts in employ- ment patterns. Issues such as unionization trends and sal- ary and wage differentials need to be addressed. 6. An understanding of the impact of information technology and electronic connectivity on the relation- ship between gender and mobility is needed. For example, it is reasonable to expect that the increasing integration of information with mobility will affect women and men differently. 7. Broad syntheses that link different thematic areas together are lacking, as are studies that integrate social science analysis with broader theories of social change and gender. The future must solidify the place of gender studies in transportation by developing theory. 8. Knowledge about travel, traffic safety, and security is greater in developed economies than in poor or rap- idly developing societies. Ananya Roy, whose research focuses on gender and development in the broader con-
6 WOMeNâS ISSueS IN TRANSPORTATION, vOluMe 1 text of social justice, investigated this area of research and reported on her findings in the opening plenary session. gender, poverTy, and TransporTaTion in The developing world Ananya Roy Despite increasing globalization, the worldâs poor are concentrated in developing nations. The effects of pov- erty are often more pronounced for women than men. even though the Millennium Development Goals Report1 included promotion of gender equality and improvement in maternal health, women continue to be disadvan- taged. These women are spatially disadvantaged because of forced migration and displacement or because of lim- ited access to transportation, which means they often lack access to health-care facilities, employment, and so forth. For example, in Calcutta, poor women work- 1 The Millennium Development Goals Report. united Nations Department of Social and economic Affairs, New York, 2008. ing in the informal sector (e.g., domestic service) rely on trains to get to work. Sometimes they refuse to buy tickets because they view subsidized transportation as a basic right. Transportation brings these women together, which empowers them to some extent; however, their political influence is limited, and they have no access to upward social mobility. India is working to build globally competitive, âworld-classâ cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Calcutta. For poor women, this often means their homes are demolished as the urban poor are pushed to remote peripheries unconnected to the city core. A gen- der, poverty, and transportation nexus is necessary in the context of transportation justice. Developed nations regularly audit the nexus, but it is uncommon in devel- oping nations. Transportation justice is paramount to expanding opportunities and providing access to trans- portation as well as to jobs and shelter. Roy observed that a vigorous research agenda on womenâs transporta- tion issues must include a focus on the worldâs poor and transportation justice for the worldâs âbottom billion.â