Investigating the Link between Transport Sustainability and the Representation of Women in Swedish Local Committees

Lena Winslott Hiselius, Annica Kronsell, Christian Dymén and Lena Smidfelt Rosqvist
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Lena Winslott Hiselius: Department of Technology and Society, Lund University, 22100 Lund, Sweden
Annica Kronsell: School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, 40032 Gothenburg, Sweden
Christian Dymén: Trivector Traffic, 40653 Stockholm, Sweden
Lena Smidfelt Rosqvist: Trivector Traffic, 22100 Lund, Sweden

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 17, 1-18

Abstract: There are large discrepancies in the transport sector along gender lines in travel patterns and means of transportation used, but also in attitudes and norms among citizens, planners and decision-makers, with women generally more positive towards measures involving the lowering CO2 emissions. At the same time, the number of women involved in transport-related decisions is low. This is a problem for gender equality but possibly also for sustainability. A careful review of previous studies indicated a lack of analyses on the subject based on quantitative data at the local level. We investigated a possible link between women’s presence in local policymaking and more sustainable transport policies, and whether it is possible to capture such an effect. The main contribution of this paper is a methodological approach in which, besides generating unique data on representation in municipalities (confirming men’s dominance, specifically in transport policymaking), possibilities for quantitatively measuring gender and the level of sustainability in transport planning are discussed and tested. Challenges in collecting relevant data and analyzing possible covariances in the data set are discussed and presented as well as suggestions for further investigations into the possible link between gender and sustainable transport performance.

Keywords: gender; mobility; passenger transport; female representation; critical mass (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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