Gender Responsive Urban Mobility in India

Key Highlights of World Bank’s Toolkit

What are the prevailing issues in urban transport for women in India?

• Safety concerns: Lack of safety and also the lack of a perception of safety are a major impediment for women when it comes to accessing public transport in India.
  • Dearth of good street lighting, no reliable last mile transport, and high waiting time at remote bus stops are just some of the challenges in this regard.
  • A vicious cycle: Unsafe transport leads to fewer women travelling out which in turn leads to fewer women out in public spaces which actually make these spaces even more unsafe.
• Pink tax: Women often face higher costs of travelling as compared to men, which makes urban mobility a burden for them. This is mainly because of two reasons:
  • Trip chaining: Women tend to perform various short commutes to fulfill their multiple responsibilitiesto a greater extent than men.
  • Safety perceptions: It is also common for women to choose more expensive routes or forms of transport because they perceive them as safer.

How the Above Issues of Urban Mobility are Impacting Women?

• Poor life outcomes: Lack of safe, inexpensive and reliable public transport has a profound impact on women’s ability to access education and employment opportunities, in turn leading to poorer life outcomes for them.
• Additional burden: Women from lower socio-economic groups are among the biggest users of public transport in Indian cities. The current issues in urban mobility are putting an additional burden on a section of society which is already disadvantaged.

World Bank

• Establishment: Under the terms of the Bretton Woods Agreement, also known as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference1944, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) were established simultaneously.
• The World Bank and IMF are also known as the Bretton Wood Twins.The only requirement for a country to join the World Bank is that it must be an IMF member (there are exceptions).
• Headquarters: Washington D.C.
• Objectives:
  • Toprovide financing, advice, and research to developing nations to aid their economic advancement.
  • To fight poverty by offering developmental assistance to middle- and low-income countries.
  • To encourage long-term capital investment to ensure BOP equilibrium and balanced development of global trade.
• The World Bank Group: It consists of five organizations in total, all of which share a commitment to eradicating poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.
  • IBRD- The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  • IDA- The International Development Association
  • IFC- The International Finance Corporation
  • MIGA- The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
  • ICSID- The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Dispute
• Important publications:
  • World Development Report
  • International Debt Statistics
  • Ease of Doing Business Report
  • Report Global Economic Prospects
  • The Human Capital Index

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