An Introduction to Gender and Mobility in Emerging Economies (FutureLearn)

Learn why gender matters in transport and mobility
Throughout history, transport policies and services have almost always been designed by and for men. There is now a growing awareness among researchers and policy-makers that ignoring women’s needs can impact their ability to use transport.

Examine mobility patterns and needs among women
You’ll start the course by examining women’s needs, patterns, and priorities in relation to transport. Taking a firmly international focus, you’ll look at case studies from cities across the globe.
You’ll understand why women’s needs differ from those of men, and how current transport models may be failing women. You’ll also explore the connection between gender, poverty, and transport.

Explore ways of improving female representation in the transport sector
Beyond gender biases affecting individual services, women are also under-represented in the transport sector as a whole.
Week 3 of the course will look at the barriers women face in accessing senior positions in transport, and strategies for encouraging women to work in the sector.

Understand the importance of gender-sensitive planning
In the final week of the course, you’ll look to the future of a more inclusive transport sector.
You’ll learn what it means to gather gender-inclusive data and make gender-sensitive decisions in order to reduce inequality across mobility systems.
At the end of the course, you’ll join other learners to discuss how you can apply your expertise in workplaces all around the world.

Syllabus

Week 1: Why women’s mobility and transport needs must be met
Week 2: What are women's mobility patterns and needs?
Week 3: How to encourage more women to work in transport, and why this matters
Week 4: When and where to collect data for gender-sensitive decision-making

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

• Describe how transport policies and solutions have been designed around men’s needs
• Justify why we must focus on women's needs
• Discuss the mobility patterns of women
• Reflect on how gender roles lead to specific mobility needs
• Demonstrate the safety-related mobility needs of women using supporting data
• Explore and share your own safety-related mobility needs
• Explain why we need more women in mobility and transport positions
• Investigate the current picture of women working in transport and mobility
• Identify the barriers to women wanting to enter the transport sector
• Apply your new knowledge to a local case study
• Describe the nature of gender-sensitive data
• Explain the process of collecting gender-sensitive data
• Demonstrate how empirical and gender-sensitive data can be used for planning and implementation
• Apply the skills learned in this course in a workplace scenario