The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Women in Transport is a cross-party group of MPs and Peers, chaired by Ruth Cadbury MP, which aims to provide a forum to discuss and overcome the under-representation of women in transport by promoting best practice examples of employers leading the way in gender diversifying their workforce. Women in Transport acts as the Secretariat for the APPG, supported by JFG Communications
For more information about the APPG for Women in Transport and to download a copy of the Gender perceptions and experiences working in transport report: www.womenintransport.com
Of the 567 people who fully completed the survey, 289 were women, 272 were men, and six people did not respond or self-defined. The average age of the complete sample was 42, ranging from 19 to 76 years old.
The full list of recommendations for Government, the transport industry and Women in Transport to take forward are:
For Government:
Develop a campaign to profile and celebrate the diverse range of people within the transport sector who have kept the network going and who are helping the UK to build back better. This could build on the #transportheroes campaign
Support a cross-industry Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Charter to join up the different sector EDI Charters (e.g. Railway Industry Association / Women in Rail; Women in Aviation and Aerospace; Women in Maritime)
Commit to making the importance of greater diversity central to policymaking on how the transport industry can support a safe, greener recovery from Covid-19
For the transport sector to deliver:
Provide clarity about their flexible working policies post Covid-19 and build it into industry culture going forward
Establish gender inclusive recruitment and retainment practices, such as inclusive job descriptions, removing personal details from CVs, and diverse interview panels
Resource gender equality staff networks to support women and non-binary people
Establish reverse mentoring programmes to pair male senior leaders with women in more junior roles to enable better understanding of women's experiences
For Women in Transport to deliver:
Government and industry to support Women in Transport to deliver an industry-wide campaign and toolkit to challenge macho behaviours and culture in the transport workplace. This should support men too, given concerns about the impact of the pandemic on mental health mentioned by survey respondents. As part of the toolkit, develop specific training to aid understanding of women's experiences
To tackle the issues of progression identified by research participants - particularly to senior levels for people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities and women – Women in Transport should develop and deliver a leadership programme to support women leaders
About Women in Transport: Women in Transport is a not-for-profit that empowers women to maximise their potential. Membership provides exclusive access to a varied events programme including unique experiences, professional development and networking and annual mentoring.
The Gender perceptions and experiences working in transport research was sponsored by Eurovia, with pro-bono support from JFG Communications.