For a long time, public transportation jobs were considered to be reserved for men, even though 60% of passengers are women. However, they account for only 25% of the staff of transportation operators.
The management of these trips, which can be complex, is generally the responsibility of women: taking children to school, going to activities or to work. They are the ones who most often have to deal with accessibility issues and implement avoidance strategies to reduce the feeling of insecurity and the risk of aggression during these trips. According to the French National Federation of Public Transport Users, 87% of women have already been harassed on public transport in 2019.
Mobility contributes to the freedom and autonomy of everyone. The feminization of these occupations is therefore crucial. Tending towards gender diversity at all hierarchical levels is a necessary lever to generate a virtuous dynamic in favor of sustainable and inclusive mobility.
Studies show that a company, in which talent is rewarded without discrimination, will outperform its competitors. Promoting the place of women in a world of men contributes to confronting the benefits of the company and its travelers.
Within Transdev, numerous measures have been put in place to meet this challenge, such as the equal pay index, which today has a high score of 96/100. Over the last 12 months, 50% of our executive recruitments have been women. In the United States and Sweden, it is women who head up our network. In consultation with local authorities, public transit authorities and associations, initiatives led by our employees are also deployed (shared diagnosis, panel of female travelers), as in Grenoble and Rouen. These are women serving other women, understanding the problems of the customers they transport.
While environmental considerations are becoming increasingly important and cross-cutting, ensuring an efficient, safe and accessible public transit service for all is a collective challenge. Transdev’s 85,000 employees are mobilized to meet this challenge.
Acting for equality, by being a partner of the Think Tank Marie Claire is an obvious choice for Transdev. Women are and must be the key players in tomorrow’s mobility. Transdev intends to play its role as a structuring actor of the public space by giving women the opportunity to invest in it.
Thierry Mallet Chairman & CEO Transdev Group