Pursuing Women-Empowerment in the Public Transport System: A case study in Sweden

Master Thesis

HALMSTAD

UNIVERSITY

Master's Programme in Nordic Welfare, 60 credits

Pursuing Women-Empowerment in the Public Transport System

A case study in Sweden

Thesis - Health and Lifestyle, 15credits

Halmstad 2020-10-16

Leila Emami

Pursuing Women-Empowerment in the Public Transport System

A case study in Sweden

Master's program in the Nordic welfare Thesis Health and Lifestyle – HL8031

Author Leila Emami

Supervisor Marta Cuesta

Examiner Linus Andersson

October 2020

Halmstad

Abstract

This case study applies women's empowerment and feminist theories to discuss the transport system's possible link with women empowerment and understand how a gender-responsive transport system based on women's complex needs would empower them and improve their status of health and well-being. The research area is two small urban in Sweden with less than 1500 populations. The present study investigates the local women's mobility behavior to discover their daily travel challenges. Moreover, determining whether the local transport project, including the train station's commencement, is gender-aware in the policymaking and implementation part and conscious about the gender-mainstreaming and gender- equality policies. This research practices the qualitative method by employing semi- structured interviews with a small sample-group of women in the regions. The interpretation of data is being used as the theoretical knowledge approach.

Besides, when the COVID-19 pandemic changed people's mobility behavior, they avoided using public transport for safety measurements and working from home.

The research's last aim is to observe any change in people's mindset, behavior, and their trust level in public transport.

The result shows a clear connection between the transportation system and women's empowerment and their well-being. The study presents having gender-awareness perspectives, and raising gender consciousness is necessary if the ultimate aim is designing an equitable transport system to support women empowerment. The research demonstrates that women still trust and prefer the public transport system and are ready to use it again after the COVID-19 and familiar situation.

Keywords: gender-empowerment, women mobility, daily travel, public transport,

subjective well-being, Sweden.

Table of contents

1- Introduction ... 1

2- Background ... 3

2-1- Introduction... 3

2-2- Gender Mainstreaming ... 3

2-3- Gender Mainstream in the Transport Section ... 4

2-4- Gender Mainstream in Sweden and Including in the Transport Section .... 5

2-5- Malmo, a City in Sweden as a Model ... 6

3-Previous Studies ... 8

3-1- Gender Differences in Mobility ... 8

3-2- Transportation and Women's Employment ... 8

3-3- Women's Unique Needs in Transport ... 10

3-4- Safety, Accessibility, and Affordability of Transport System ... 11

3-5- Women and Transport Limitation in Rural Areas ... 12

3-6- Women Participation in Policymaking ... 13

3-7- Women and Environmental Transportation ... 14

3-8- Women's Travel Pattern in Sweden ... 15

4-Theoretical Framework ... 17

4-1- Nila Kabeer's Theory of Empowerment ... 17

4-2- Different Approach to Gender Empowerment and Gender Equality ... 18

4-3- Gender Mainstreaming in Society ... 18

4-4- Transportation System and Gender Empowerment... 20

5-Problem Definition and Aims ... 21

6-Methods... 23

6-1- Design ... 23

6-2- Data Gathering ... 23

6-3- Sampling ... 25

6-4- Data Processing and Analysis ... 26

6-5- Ethics ... 27

6-6- Validity, Credibility, Generalization, and Reliability ... 27

6-7- Limitations ... 28

6-8- Study Setting and Design ... 28

7- Results ... 29

7-1- Schedule, Connection Points, and Duration of Travel ... 30

7-2- Dependence, Cultural Norms, and Ethnic Group Behavior on Using the Private Car ... 31

7-3 Reliance on Family Members or Others ... 33

7-4- Safety ... 34

7-5- Employment, Education, and Social Life ... 35

7-6- The Future Opportunity and People Perspective on Future ... 36

7-7- Women Environmental View ... 38

7-8- Women's Household and Child-care Responsibility ... 39

7-9- Covid-19 and Public Transportation... 40

7-10- Gender Equality and Gender Mainstreaming Perspective in the Project42 8- Discussion ... 44

8-1- Gender Equality and Gender Empowerment in the Public Transportation System ... 44

8-2- Gender Mainstreaming in the Public Transportation System... 50

9-Conclusion ... 52

References ... 55

Appendix (I) ... 57

Appendix (II) ... 58

Question from actors of the project ... 58

Gender mainstreaming ... 58

Covid-19 ... 59

Appendix (III)... 60

Question from women in the area ... 60

Covid-19 ... 61

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1- Introduction

Gender is one of the critical variables that influence people's travel patterns and needs. Public transport is supposed to be effective and gender-based. Several research pieces confirm inequalities in mobility and indicate that women have inferior access to private and public transport systems worldwide. The public transport system in Europe needs more specific measures and actions to apply equity and sustainability. Besides, a careful review of previous studies confirms the lack of gender-mainstreaming in the transport system and women's insufficient role in planning the transport policies and the decision-making part.

They indicate that transportation is a male-dominant sector that would adversely affect women's' mobility.

Mobility is one of the principal rights of humans in society, and all citizens should equally enjoy an accessible and useful transport system despite their gender, ethnic background, social status, level of income, age, physical, or psychological states. However, we still can see all over the world in both developed and developing countries; women face limitations in their daily mobility and have different challenges that negatively affect their life activities.

Many people in Nordic countries live in small and less populated areas. In 2016, around 45% of the Nordic population still lived in areas with less than 2000 inhabitants (Grunfelder, Rispling, & Norlén, 2018, p. 36). In Nordic countries, including Sweden, the population is mostly concentrated on beachfront living and closeness to nature with more rural characteristics. The culture and the pattern of living in these small areas are similar across the Nordic region. It is critical to consider the public transport system to be gender-aware and efficient enough to satisfy women's' specific mobility needs and create the opportunity for women in these small areas to have smooth and easy access to the labor market, health-care, and social activities.

The present research aims to study gender mainstreaming in the transportation

system and the positive effect of a gender-equal transport system on women's well-

being and empowerment. This research is a case study that explicitly concentrates

on a long-term project in the Veinge and Knäred, two small Laholm municipality's

cities in Sweden with less than 1500 populations. The only available public

transport in areas is buses with a limited schedule. The project started in 2017,

and the plan is the commencement of the train station in the region by 2030. The

study explores how involved politicians and decision-makers in this project imply

gender-equal measures to fulfill the women's unique needs in the transportation

system, how this transport project will influence the women's health and well-

being in the future and would empower them, and what is women's mobility

challenges and needs. Moreover, for equality in the transport system, gender

mainstreaming should apply in different policies, from planning, evaluating,

implementing, and managing. This research examines the application of gender-

mainstreaming in the project.

This study begins with a historical review of gender-equality and gender- mainstreaming worldwide and following in Sweden. For addressing the research's questions, the research reviews various studies and data about women's different mobility needs and norms from men; women's challenging and issues in their daily movement; the different mobility pattern between women that depends on their age, economic resources, social class; rural women's' public transport problems;

women environmental perspective, and gender mainstreaming in the transport

system. The Following presents the analysis's method conducted to do the

research. The research adopts a qualitative approach by phone semi-structured

interviews because of the government's social-distancing measurements during

the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants are two female actors who work in the

municipality and are involved in the project, and four women live in the area and

use the local public transport. Finally, the research tries to conclude the result and

discuss the correlation between gender-aware public transport system and its

effect on women empowerment.

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2- Background

2-1- Introduction

The Background and Previous studied chapters will present a clear picture of the knowledge and research studies on women's specific needs in the transportation system, which is different from men in many aspects.

Much research has been done to analyze the daily travel patterns of people. They refer to factors that affect people's travel manners and create different travel needs and habits, including social and physical states, individual motives, and personal resources. The transportation system is mainly not sufficient for these differences and harms the quality of citizens' lives. Women are among those groups whom their travels' needs are not evaluated correctly in most societies. Studies show that women behave differently in their daily mobility, their daily travel distance, the number of their trips, and their travel purposes are different from men. They have less access to economic resources than men and face more physical, cultural, and psychological obstacles in society. Furthermore, they often take different household responsibility divisions, which are usually divided unequally between men and women.

The previous studies argue that an un-equal transport system limits women's access to essential opportunities for their health and well-being, including hospitals, training centers, labor market, and participation in social activities, meeting friends or family. On the contrary, an efficient transportation system can provide women with social and economic opportunities and help them have easy access to the labor market and job opportunities. A sound transportation system can reduce the labor market gap between men and women and will empower women.

Studies show that women have less access to economic resources and private cars in urban and rural areas. They are more dependent on the public transport system because of lower costs. Therefore, to fulfill a gender-equal transport system, the women's unique needs in transportation need to be considered. Women particular travel need is a local, more flexible, and available transport system.

2-2- Gender Mainstreaming

Gender mainstreaming, as an outstanding global strategy, was established to take

action, in the United Nations Fourth World Conference platform on Women, in

Beijing in 1995. And, gender mainstream strategy tries to verify across entire

policies, from analyzing issues and formulation of policy options. It emphasis that

gender differences and inequalities need to recognize, the gender gaps need to

narrow, and greater equality between women and men needs to establish. Based

on the definition in the ECOSOC(ECOSOC) agreed on conclusions (1997/2),

Gender mainstreaming strategy is a process to assess the gender equality and

perspective implications in any planned action including, legislation, policies, or programs at all levels and areas. This strategy seeks to make women's concerns and experiences an integral dimension in all dimensions of reparation, design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of policies and programs in all political, economic, and societal spheres. The objective is to achieve equality between men and women and combating discrimination (ECOSOC)

In Europe in 1999, following the Beijing fourth World conference, in the Amsterdam Treaty, the equality between men and women was considered an essential task in the European legislation (Article 2EC). Since then, in Europe, any discrimination is prohibited, and following the gender mainstreaming in all European policies is required (Article 13(1) EC ), and one article is stabilized to declare the principle for equal treatment between men and women in access to goods and services (2004/113/EC).

2-3- Gender Mainstream in the Transport Section

The gender gap in the transport system still exists even in most developed countries. The studies confirm that young children could reduce a woman's mobility in Sweden, while it may not affect a man (Gustafson, Work-related travel, gender and family, 2006, p. 513). However, the gender gap in transportation will be less with having more educated women, more women's employment rate, and the change in society's cultural attitude toward women's roles (European Commission 2014 ). Feminist theories comply that people's mobility behavior is gendered, and a sufficient mobility system can create gender power. The main aim of gender equality is to provide the same opportunity for men and women. They believe that gender-mainstreaming should be implied in the transport system to achieve a sustainable transport system.

While the effort of the united nation and European Union is creating a gender- equal society, following the same strategy in the transportation section is essential as it helps people to get access to the labor market, healthcare, education facilities, and it plays a critical role in the individual's health and well-being. Transport projects and policies should equally benefit men and women, but professional studies show that transport is not gender natural (European Institute for Gender Equality ). These gaps are seen in access to transport infrastructure and services, segregation in the transport labor market, weak representation of women in the decision–making process, and gender-based violence in the transport system (European Institute for Gender Equality ).

In 2008, the UN introduced gender issues in the transport agenda. The report

mentioned that women's specific needs in the transportation section are not

considered globally, while transport can boost women's productivity and promote

gender equality. The next UN action regarding gender mainstream in the transport

section was in 2015 while adapted the 2030 agenda on sustainable goals. In that

report, the transportation part emphasizing the safe, affordable, accessible, and

sustainable transport system and improve road safety for all citizens, mainly by

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expanding the public transport system, and with particular attention to the needs of vulnerable members of society such as women, children, people with disabilities, and older people(https://eige.europa.eu/gender- mainstreaming/policy-areas/transport).

With the new regulations, new parental models, new technology, new forms of work, and development in the labor market that boost more women participation in the labor market, it is likely to create more variable mobility patterns and urge the necessity for considering the appropriate transport policies to achieve both sustainability goals and gender-specific mobility needs (Maffii, Malgieri, & Di Bartolo, CIVITAS Policy Note: Gender equality and mobility; mind the gap, 2020, p. 7).

2-4- Gender Mainstream in Sweden and Including in the Transport Section

Sweden has a feminist government, and gender equality is a priority for society.

As a forerunner country regarding gender equality, the government must apply a gender-equal perspective in its entire work. Furthermore, it is a priority for all political parties and organizations to work actively with gender equality issues.

Equality in society is about fairness and equal distribution of economic and political power and valuing women and men in a balanced way.

Based on Swedish rules established in 1999, the overall goal of gender equality policy is to provide the same opportunity for the men and women with the same rights and obligations in all essential life areas. The even distribution of power, the same economic independence, the same business conditions, the same employment development opportunities, equal access to training and opportunities for personal development, shared home and children responsibilities, and freedom from gender-based violence. Furthermore, in society still, there is some unequal social structure that the effort and aim are to change them, including:

 Men are the norm, and women are the exception.

 Men are superior, and women are inferior.

 Men have a higher power, and women less (Skrivelse 1999/2000:24, 6).).

Inserting a gender-balanced perspective in the transportation system is essential for the Swedish government to achieve sustainability. Merritt Polk (Polk, Gender equality & transport policy in Sweden, 2003, p. 29) explains the processes of inserting gender equality in transport policy in Sweden as below:

For the first time, gender equality came into transport policy in the 1997

committee proposal (SOU 1997:35). The goal was to integrate gender equality

following the 1996 guidelines of gender equality legislation as 'equal rights,

responsibilities, and possibilities within all life (Skrivelse 1996/97:41). In 1997,

one document presented that talked about the different travel patterns of men and women. It explained the gender travel pattern based on different social roles and that women work predominantly within certain occupations, women travel fewer business trips, earn less salary, work shorter hours, and have more responsibility at home(SOU 1997:35). The report also stated that because women hold greater responsibilities for the households, they prefer to work closer to home (1997:35, 444). In the 1997 description, the next section considered the decision-making and planning sector in public transport and traffic planning, which showed less representation of women, especially in leadership roles.

Following the above background report, in March 1998, the government proposed establishing a Gender Equality Council to investigate the connections between gender equality and the communication sector (Proposition 1997/98:56 ). The topics to be covered were physical planning, traffic planning, strategies for the environment, safety, transportation technologies, and competence and recruiting within the sector. The report resulting from this council, Gender equality – transportation and IT, is thus far the most thorough application of gender equality in transport policy (SOU 2001:44).

On the individual level, the most attention topics were travel patterns and attitudes towards transportation modes. This report brought up three main points regarding women's and men's attitudes toward transportation. First, women are more positive about public transport. Second, women's travel patterns are environmental. Third, the car is more connected to masculine identity than a feminine one (SOU 2001:44 ).

One of the fundamental points in the transport system was in 2001 that the Swedish government considered gender equality as the sixth goal in the transport policy (1-Accessibility, 2-environmental, 3-Effectivity, 4-Regional development, 5- Safety, 6-Gender equality) (Proposition 2001/02:20).

Polk (POLK, 2008, p. 232) argues that Sweden has been trying to integrate gender equality into the transportation system's political levels since 1990. However, research shows that it has been practically unsuccessful due to predominately male decision-makers, ignorance of gender equality as a relevant goal, lack of knowledge and expertise, lack of material, lack of financial resources, and lack of systematic strategy for dealing with gender equality.

2-5- Malmo, a City in Sweden as a Model

One good example of integrating a gender perspective in policy objectives in

Sweden is the city of Malmo. In 2011, The Malmo municipality started to discuss

and consult with secondary school students, representatives of female-dominated

workplaces, politicians, administrators, and commercial employees, representing

free time activities to debate gender issues in the transportation system. The result

of this meeting was some new implementations in policies. One application was to

increase the safety for women in the transportation system by taking some actions

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such as making the bus stops as safe as possible with enough lights, removing the bushes around the bus stops, and eliminating the dark access ways to bus stops.

Another motion was to start two new tram lines in Malmo, which some specific

actions considered for men and women equal participation in the planning process

and encourage women to give their opinion during the planning process

(European institute for gender equality).

3-Previous Studies

3-1- Gender Differences in Mobility

Diverse research over a long time confirms that men and women's travel pattern is different, and gender is an essential factor in people's travel patterns to address.

Women have more similar travel behavior in different cities compare with the men in their towns. This fact support that gender has a significant impact on travel behavior more than other aspects such as environment, transport service, age, or income (NG & Acker, February 2018, p. 15).

Women's traveling patterns show that they have specific travel preferences, and the deep inequalities in societies cause these differences (Peters, Gender and Sustainable Urban Mobility, 2013, p. 1). We can refer to some of these factors, including physical differences, power distribution, women vulnerability, and their psychological, social, and economic situation that create different transport patterns between men and women (Kerry, Linda, Frances, & Jeff, 2005, p. IV).

Nevertheless, we should not consider women a homogenous group with the same travel behavior. Women in different countries might have other commute behavior and travel needs. Studies show that these differences include different sociocultural norms, economic resources, and various societies' policies. Also, women in the same country have divergent behavior based on their ethnicity, age, income, culture, educational background, disability status, and sexual orientation.

This distinct behavior would affect the mobility and the travel pattern (Loukaitou- Sideris, A gendered view of mobility and transport: next steps and future directions, 2016, p. Page 1 of 15).

Moreover, women's travel behavior might change in different life stages, and some factors might influence their mobility needs and preference. The significant factors that influence women's trip behavior are employment situation, caregiving duties, the birth of a child, household structure, living alone, or the age that might change in life circles, which significantly influences women's travel patter (Madariaga, From Women in Transport to Gender in Transport: Challenging Conceptual Framework for Improved Policymaking, 2013, p. 48).

Travel researches refer to other factors that have an impact on men and women different travel pattern such as, their different mobility attitude, different travel needs, different gender rules, employment status, income, and education (Polk, Are women potentially more accommodating than men to a sustainable transportation system in Sweden?, 2003, p. 77).

3-2- Transportation and Women's Employment

Over time, women's participation in the labor market and social activities is

increasing, and the traditional society perspective regarding childcare as the

specific women's duty is changing. Still, in many societies, women are forced to

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handle multiple tasks and combine their job responsibilities with their childcare duties. Women mainly have the responsibility for arranging the family life. They manage the children's bedtime, children's activities, food preparation, and cleaning. The care-work activities are critical human activities that need to be valued and studied, and considered. Care- work is including all necessary maintenance activities of the home and care of dependents such as children, the young, or the old. Many women face extreme time poverty in some cycles of their life. The time poverty refers to the lack of time that a woman would spend for leisure or health, a load of caretaking tasks, and insufficient transportation system takes much time for women (Madariaga, From Women in Transport to Gender in Transport: Challenging Conceptual Framework for Improved Policymaking, 2013, p. 52). The division between family and work responsibilities affects women's employment conditions, income level, and mobility needs. For fulfillment of these duties, an excellent transportation facility and the system is necessary (Madariaga, From Women in Transport to Gender in Transport: Challenging Conceptual Framework for Improved Policymaking, 2013, p. 49).

Often women face time poverty in the cities that restrict their mobility. Restriction in mobility influences their job responsibilities and sometimes forces them to work part-time jobs, miss the promotions, or unable to work at all. Women prefer to make a shorter work trip and do the positions close to their homes because of poverty in their time. They are more likely to trip chain or work closer to home, or sometimes they force to stay at home if their trip to the job takes a long time (Peters, Gender and Sustainable Urban Mobility, 2013, p. 3).

The employment rate of women is fewer because of home and care responsibilities.

In Europe, women spending more time in unpaid home jobs, while fathers work more outside the home. Many women do part-time jobs, and women are mainly considered for the low-wage profession more than men. As a result, they have fewer financial resources. Besides the lower employment rate, lower women's wages, and more part-time jobs, these unequal loads of household responsibilities create differences between men and women in their travel needs. It is critical to pay more attention to better transport services and access to private transport modes if we want to reduce the gender gap in the labor market (Maffii, Malgieri,

& Di Bartolo, CIVITAS Policy Note: Gender equality and mobility; mind the gap, 2020, p. 13).

For many women, un-paid household responsibilities are superior to their jobs

while they have to spend much time on transportation between home and job

place. When work-related travel interferes with family responsibilities, especially

for women with small children, women might prefer to limit their daily trips and

travel a shorter distance to save more time for these responsibilities. A woman is

more likely to quit her job or work part-time due to parental status. This decision

limits their potential in the labor market, and they might miss many employment

chances (Gustafson, Work-related travel, gender and family, 2006, p. 517).

A regular income source will increase the women's investment in their well-being and the well-being of other household members, especially children, and support them with a more excellent voice and agency in the household (Duflo, 2012, p.

1076). Based on WHO, reducing inequality is crucial if we want to improve economic efficiency, productivity, and environmental sustainability. Women should be economic-independence, and they have to be robust and independent in their home and society. To reduce inequality and poverty, women's access to decent work and the labor market is essential.

To conclude this part, an efficient transport system could affect women's empowerment in the labor market, which could positively impact women's independence, the level of their income, and their well-being.

3-3- Women's Unique Needs in Transport

Women travel pattern is more complicated than men. They have different needs and preference that is essential to fulfilling by the transport system. For a gender- equal transport system, a more flexible transport system with a more variable schedule is necessary to address women's needs.

While the primary purpose of men trips is for work and business purposes, women prefer to reduce work-related trips to save time. Women's travel destination is often not their workplace and is often to shopping centers, schools, hospitals, and health centers (Maffii, Malgieri, & Di Bartolo, CIVITAS Policy Note: Gender equality and mobility; mind the gap, 2020, p. 20).

Women are more inclined to use public transport than men since their travel distance is short (TIWARI, 2014, p. 5). However, the complicated part is related to their preference to travel outside the rush hours and their needs for non- commuting and chain trips that might not well-provided by public transport (NG

& Acker, February 2018, p. 16). While men mainly travel a longer distance and

single destination to and from the workplace, women conduct multi-purpose

chained trips with shorter distances to accomplish household chores. They often

lead more trips per day, and the trips are usually more than two points and to

different destinations (NG & Acker, February 2018, p. 15). Therefore, they must

spend the least time on their travel. They often conduct daily non-work-related

complex activities, which force them to travel for a wider variety of purposes. They

handle multiple daily tasks except for their employment responsibility, which is

their primary household responsibilities for childcare, elderly care, or domestic

works. They experience the travel, which is related to more complex and

challenging activities associated with their household multiple tasks, including

shopping, assistant the kids, or dependent older people (Maffii, Malgieri, & Di

Bartolo, CIVITAS Policy Note: Gender equality and mobility; mind the gap, 2020,

p. 7). They mostly travel not alone, and they often accompany children to or from

school or helping them with their after extra school activities. Also, trips related to

medical visits for children or the elderly are mainly women's responsibilities

(Peters, Gender and Sustainable Urban Mobility, 2013, p. 2). They often travel

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with overburdened groceries. It is challenging for women to use the public transportation system while combining different trips and carry parcels (European Commission, 2014). It is also more likely for a woman to be a single- parent in most societies and burden the children's responsibility (Kerry, Linda, Frances, & Jeff, 2005, p. 5).

Women's travel time is also different from men's. Women mainly prefer to travel outside the rush hours in the morning and the afternoon to accomplish their household duties, while men have mostly fixed travel time to work (Maffii, Malgieri, & Di Bartolo, CIVITAS Policy Note: Gender equality and mobility; mind the gap, 2020, p. 20) (NG & Acker, February 2018, p. 6).

An excessive number of women are among the vulnerable social groups with specific transport needs (Madariaga, From Women in Transport to Gender in Transport: Challenging Conceptual Framework for Improved Policymaking, 2013, p. 49). The increasing aging population and longer life expectancy in women cause more alone older women who might live in a low economic situation. Also, single mothers or working mothers who take the most caretaking responsibilities are among the vulnerable groups. Moreover, some rural women, ethnic minority women, disabled women, older women, low-income women, unemployed women, young women, students, pregnant women, or domestic abuse victims might face specific transport issues.

3-4- Safety, Accessibility, and Affordability of Transport System

Safety and security are some of the essential factors from the gender perspective for a sustainable transport system. Access to public transport should be easy for all members of society. Women must have a safe and secure journey to employment opportunities with the public transport system; otherwise, it will harm their life quality. Safety should be guarantee during the whole trips from the route to the stations, during the waiting time, and inside the vehicle. The safe and secure travel to employment opportunities should be a guarantee for all women.

Despite the recent awareness against women violence in public transport spaces and the development of the public transport system, still, in any part of the world, women feel uncomfortable. Even in developed countries, women do not have access to public transport equal to men, and sexual and physical assault might limit their rights (Madariaga, From Women in Transport to Gender in Transport:

Challenging Conceptual Framework for Improved Policymaking, 2013, p. 48).

Women are more vulnerable to physical and social harassment.

The research shows that women are mainly concerned about unstaffed stations, low lighting, isolation, walking at night, or waiting at bus stops or platforms in isolated areas. Good public transport networks also are essential because some districts might be unsafe.

Studies have indicated that many women afraid to go out at night, and they feel a

greater fear of crime than men. The presence of police, video cameras, and the reliability of services is critical to dealing with safety issues and meeting their needs (Duchène, 2011, p. 15).

Civitas' policy note, "Gender equality and mobility" (Maffii, Malgieri, & Di Bartolo, CIVITAS Policy Note: Gender equality and mobility; mind the gap, 2020, p. 36), explains some measures to contribute to public transport designing for more gender-sensitive mobility. The gender safety needs to concerns about traveling outside daylight hours, the introduction of night buses and night taxies, also, it is useful if women are allowed to exit public transportation closer to their final destination outside the regular bus stops in darkness, and adequate lightening is significant around the bus stops. Awareness of bus drivers is another critical point for the safety of women. The stations' design and provide lifts, considering some places in stations for caring children, width and safety designed pedestrian with enough light to accommodate traveling, parking space for pregnant women near to stops, and other vital points for women's smooth travel.

The cost of travel is another critical point in women's public transport, and the price of transit fare for multi-stop journeys should not be high (Peters, Gender and Sustainable Urban Mobility, 2013, p. 35).

3-5- Women and Transport Limitation in Rural Areas

Transport literature pays little attention to women's transportation in rural districts. Women need to travel for their social and economic activities. Often leading a journey is so challenging for women that became their main obstacle to getting access to resources and services while improving their financial situation.

Transport infrastructure and resources are providing low services to meet the complex travel needs of multi-tasking women.

The available evidence confirms that transport infrastructure and resources, which are well developed in many urban areas, have much incompetency in rural areas in many developed countries. Insufficient public transport affects women's lives more, and the conditions are getting worse for them who face more social constraints.

The primary aim of public transport in rural areas is generally to provide links to cities. Also, in suburban areas, public transportation is designed to link people to the city center (Duchène, 2011, p. 9), and less attention is given to smooth the trips within the residential areas. The service schedules are mainly based on working hours for customers to reach the workplace while women often travel the off-peak hours to do childcare duties (Duchène, 2011, p. 7).

According to Hirt (Hirt A, Stuck in the Suberb? Gendered perspective on living at

the edge of the post-communist city, 2008, p. 352), the suburb living might

increase some women's hardship. People are more dependent on private cars in

rural areas, while most families own one car, mainly husband use it for work travel.

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Women are dependent on the public transport system, which in many cases is insufficient. Women with less economic resources and less access to a private car might remotely have social activities. The issue is more difficult for mothers with young children, and they might experience exclusion. It is very challenging for them to maintain their social activities and to keep their professional life. This condition encourages them to be more dependent on self-employment jobs.

Bamberger (Maramba & Bamberger, A Gender Responsive Monitoring and Evaluation System for Rural Travel and Transport Programs in Africa, 2001) discusses this insufficiently in the transportation system in Africa. The main reason for the inability of rural transport to meet women's needs is not including women in designing transportation projects. In rural areas, mainly men who are the household's head are consulted (Maramba & Bamberger, A Gender Responsive Monitoring and Evaluation System for Rural Travel and Transport Programs in Africa, 2001, p. 29), and the project is planning based on their information without female group discussions or female staff information. For active rural transport, women need to be involved and consulted from the data collection process. Their transport needs and priorities should be considered. The economic and cultural issues that negatively affect women's access to the transport system should be identified and answered. The project's positive and negative impact on women should evaluate. Female staff can facilitate women's participation in the project and addressing the women's issues in the project. Moreover, the team should educate about gender analysis and mainstream (Maramba & Bamberger, A Gender Responsive Monitoring and Evaluation System for Rural Travel and Transport Programs in Africa, 2001, p. 31).

In rural areas, the transport system must be designed following household members' needs, including men, women, children, and students. For women in rural areas, an excellent transport facility could significantly impact their welfare and economic opportunities (Maramba & Bamberger, A Gender Responsive Monitoring and Evaluation System for Rural Travel and Transport Programs in Africa, 2001, p. 2).

3-6- Women Participation in Policymaking

In both developed and developing countries, women have less opportunity to be involved in the decision-making process, especially in the transport section, a dominant male sector. The lack of women involvement in some parts of transport is more visible, especially in professional positions such as management or in the decision-making process, and women are occupied mainly in service parts.

In many countries, the participation of women in transport-related jobs becomes

more important. The employment of women in the transport section and the

decision-making part could improve the transport sector's effectiveness and could

reduce poverty in society (Duchène, 2011, p. 6). Women's participation in the

transport sector will also increase gender equality and increase attention to

providing secure and comfortable public transport (Peters, Gender and

Sustainable Urban Mobility, 2013, p. 27).

Men are mainly concern about travel times and speed. In comparison, women considerin reducing transit time, flexibility, affordability, security, and comfort.

Women are more aware of their needs than men, who are mainly the transportation system designer. Women understand better their mobility needs, environmental barriers, and limitations. While the transport system is male- dominant (Duchène, 2011, p. 12) to prevent structuring policymaking and planning based on masculine norms, it is equally important to introduce both the feminine norms and gender norms (Annica Kronsell, 2016, p. 709).

Greed (Greed, 2008) argues in the book, "Are we there yet? Women and transportation revisited" that women must take part in different levels if we want to have a gender-equal transport system in society as cited in research by Peters (Peters, Gender and Sustainable Urban Mobility, 2013, p. 44) as below:

Firstly the women's participation is essential in the planning team. The presence of enough female participants to integrate the gender perspective in the early stage of the process is crucial. In this part, the women's multiple roles as employees and caretakers need to consider. Planers should pay enough attention to their trip behavior to implement a sound transport system.

Secondly, in the piloting part, both women and men from different ages, different social or ethnic groups need to evaluate the applied policy's effectiveness.

Thirdly, in the implementation part, the awareness of people regarding gender issues is a crucial point.

Finally, it is necessary to continuously assess the system's performance and address gender mainstreaming. The essential points, security, flexibility, and affordability, need to be addressed (Peters, Gender and Sustainable Urban Mobility, 2013, p. 44).

3-7- Women and Environmental Transportation

Besides the above facts, another critical result in women's participation in the transportation system is environmental public transport development. Women mainly have a greener attitude than men regarding transportation and choose more environmental-friendly behavior in their daily mobility. They are more worried about car reduction and are more sensitive toward a sustainable transportation system and removal of environmental pollution caused by travel.

Also, in Sweden, women tend to have an ecological transportation system than

men (Polk, Are women potentially more accommodating than men to a sustainable

transportation system in Sweden?, 2003, p. 75).

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Women are more likely to support and accept sustainable and green policies. They are more concerned about climate change and are more prepared to adapt and accept policies that support and implement sustainable and environmental transport systems (Maffii, Malgieri, & Di Bartolo, CIVITAS Policy Note: Gender equality and mobility; mind the gap, 2020, p. 40).

Some studies were conducted to evaluate the relationship between women's higher participation in the policymaking part and the transportation system and a more sustainable and environmental transport system. Kronsell (Kronsell, Dyménb, Smidfelt Rosqvist, & Winslott Hiseliusd, 2020, p. 14), in her research, concludes that there is no simple relationship between higher women representation in policymaking and the more level of sustainability and gender norms in decision - making transport systems. She explains that women show more sustainable actions than men in transport patterns, but the vital factor in sustainability and equality level in transport planning is more related to the presence of feminine norms than female bodies (Kronsell, Dyménb, Smidfelt Rosqvist, & Winslott Hiseliusd, 2020, p. 2).

3-8- Women's Travel Pattern in Sweden

The research "The changes of activity‑travel participation across gender, life‑cycle, and generations in Sweden over 30 years" (Susilo, Liu, & Börjesson, 2018, p. 793) discusses the travel pattern in Sweden. The researcher tried to investigate the long-term trends in an individual's travel patterns in different life-style stages and generations and applied the national survey for over 30 years. This research shows that people show similar travel behavior in various life-cycle settings and ages.

Young generation women, women with small children, women without children who are married or have a partner, and older women travel patterns change overtimes differently. This research shows that the travel pattern of men and women in Sweden progressively becoming more similar and equal, and the gender difference is decreasing over time. Sweden owes this equality to policy changes implemented since the 1970s.

In Sweden, with improving education and more specialist women in the labor market, women's labor market rate has increased. The trend of women's activities with small children is higher than in the past, and the Swedish young generation mothers with small children participate more in non- work and out of home activities. As a result, women experience more complex trip chaining in compare with men. The work division between men and women also changed in recent years, and while women are tending to participate in social activities, men are taking more responsibilities for the household and children's duties.

The gender difference in the time of activity outside the home decreases among

the young generation in Sweden. The teenagers are spending more leisure time

inside the house to play video games or doing online activities and spending more

time on school trips.

The travel behavior among the elderly is also changed, and the gender difference

decreases over time. The fulfillment of the public transport system might have a

positive impact on this trend. Also, better health service, policy implementation, a

higher level of education, and personal improvement are another modifier to

consider besides improvement in the infrastructure, and these happened after a

long-term investment in Sweden society.

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4-Theoretical Framework

This chapter presents the theoretical framework used in the research study's development and includes descriptions of the chosen theories.

This research explores the effects of the transport system on women's empowerment and well-being. In an effective transport system, gender- mainstreaming needs to implement, and gender equality should be the center and priority for all decision-makers in this area. All politicians, decision-makers, and administrators need to have specific knowledge and intention to create and implement gender-equal policies inside societies. The public transport sector is not an exception, which can play an essential role in women's economic independence and empower them. This study's approach is based on the theoretical framework mentioned above, women's equality in having access to opportunities, and their empowerment in life to participate in the labor market and social activities. Reaching this aim may be more comfortable with providing affordable, safe, and accessible transport systems. A gender-equal transport system may improve women's health and well-being and help them get easy access to different sources in their lives, including employment, health, education, freedom, and independence.

4-1- Nila Kabeer's Theory of Empowerment

One of the most influential definitions of women empowerment is Nila Kabeer's (Kabeer, 1999) empowerment theory. Kabeer explains that empowerment is the ability to exercise choice by the feeling of determination, competence, and agency.

Empowerment is a changing process from being unpowered to being empowered.

In this process, people obtain the potential to make their own choice while previously abandoned by them. In other words, the expansion of people's ability to make critical choices in a circumstance where previously declined this ability from them. Some choices have a more significant impact on people's lives than others. We can define it better by dividing the life choices into first- and second- order. The first-order choices are the ones that give people the ability to live the lives they wish. Choices of livelihood, marriage, having children are examples of first-order choices. While the second-order choices might improve the quality of life, but they are less significant.

Kabeer's empowerment theory explains that three inter-connecting dimensions exist for achieving the individual choice ability.

The first one is resources (pre-conditions), which include material and various human and social resources that improve the people's ability to act on their choice.

Family, market, and community, which construct a society, can be human or social

resources in life. Access to these resources reflects the level of people's power, and

sometimes more access to resources gives some people the advantage to have more

authority over others, such as a household's head.

The second dimension is the agency, which refers to the people's ability to define their goals and try to achieve them based on their strategies, even in opposition situation forced by others. Agency refers to personal motivations, purpose, and ability to define ones' goal and achieve them. The agency's positive meaning is the capacity to pursue the goals while the agency’s negative sense refers to invalidate the others' agency sometimes by violence or threat.

And the third dimension for earning the ability to exercise choice in life is the achievement, which refers to various consequences from the basic ones, which improved well-being such as proper nourishment, good health, and adequate shelter to political representations a more complex one.

4-2- Different Approach to Gender Empowerment and Gender Equality

Reducing inequality is a fundamental part of the promise of agenda 2030. The SDG 10 of the agenda 2030 is: Reducing inequality within and among countries.

Also, SDG 8 of plan 2030 refers to sustained economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all citizens.

Per UN Women, women are more likely to work in insecure, unprotected employment, and the gender pay gap exists everywhere (Turning Promises into Action: Gender Equality In The 2030 Agenda, 2018, p. 109). Women earn less than men generally, and they are more likely than men to live below 50 percent of the median income (Turning Promises into Action: Gender Equality In The 2030 Agenda, 2018, p. 113).

In Sweden, the gender policy has six aims that all need to commit to building an equal society. Equal division of power and influence, economic equality, equal education, equal distribution of unpaid household work and provision of care, equal access to health, and men's violence against women must stop (Gender equality policy in Sweden). For commitment to these aims, an accessible and useful transport system is vital and necessary.

4-3- Gender Mainstreaming in Society

Gender mainstreaming is a strategy for integrating a gender perspective into all policies' level to promote equality and decrease discrimination between men and women. The aim of gender mainstreaming is to avoid inequalities and analyze the existing situations to identify disparities and solve them. Gender equality has two dimensions: the first is equal representation of women and men, and the second is the gender perspective application in the content of policies (European Institute for Gender Equality).

Although the government's policy aims to be neutral and profit all society

members, its focus is on the general public and often has a different impact on

women and men. If the government does not consider this fact, then the policy

would be gender-blind. Women have different travel needs and interests that must

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identify by governments. It is also crucial to locate the gender-based stereotypes and traditional gender roles in society and determine their effect on men and women (European Institute for Gender Equality).

Target 5.5 of agenda 2030 is about women's full and active participation and equal leadership opportunities. The plan persists on women's and men's equal voice and chance to participate in society and leadership opportunities. Women's participation in politics and decision making parts at all levels, from government ministers to members of parliament or local council, should be inclined. Evidence shows that women's participation positively impacts society, although they remain underrepresented on corporate boards and managerial positions. Although there has been some progress over the last decade, women remain under-represent within the government, in parliaments worldwide, and in senior and middle management positions (Turning Promises into Action: Gender Equality In The 2030 Agenda, 2018, p. 98). Women are involved in the planning process unevenly that might influence both men and women negatively. Policies benefit from diverse perspectives and representation of both sexes, which would create a different experience and improve the overall result. In this way, the integration of both gender's needs in a gender-responsive policy will be equally addressed (European Institute for Gender Equality).

According to WISE (Women Employment in Urban Public Transport Sector) transport system is a male-dominant sector. The average percentage of men employees is 82.5%, and men are the leading decision-maker in the transport system. Based on their study, on management boards, women-only shares less than 20%, and women only represent 9.3% of drivers. Based on their research, there is un-even participation of men and women in planning and decision part of policies, affecting both men and women and reducing the gender-mainstreaming in planning and implementing transport policies. Women's participation in the transport sector could create gender mainstreaming for all actors in the industry.

The result of women's involvement in the transport system is to achieve economic independence by giving them opportunities for professions and careers inside the sector. It will help support the strategy for a time balance between work and household responsibilities and better working conditions for both genders.

Moreover, it will help create a new quality public transport that will fulfill the female requirements.

Gender-based inequality will slow down economic growth and poverty reduction.

The gender aspects must consider when designing and planning transport

infrastructure and service. The inclusion of gender perspectives at the

transportation policy and project levels has not yet been achieved, and many

transport projects still miss gender dimensions. Gender perspective needs to be

increased at all levels of governments to ensure that national gender policy is

incorporated in transport policies and planning (Mainstreaming Gender in Road

Transport: Operational Guidance for World Bank Staff, 2010, p. 9).

4-4- Transportation System and Gender Empowerment

Agenda 2030, 11.2 underline access to safe, affordable, accessible, and sustainable transport systems with particular attention to people with vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities, and the elderly. Access to affordable infrastructures such as educational facilities, care, and health services is vital based on this policy. Transport will impact women's and men's opportunities to balance their work with their other daily activities. ( European Institute for Gender Equality).

The un-fair division of caring for household duties has many influences on women's travel behaviors and needs. Target 5.4 on the agenda 2030 refers to women's domestic and un-paid work and care that need to be recognized. It declares that women and girls burden a massive of unequal household responsibilities worldwide, which face them for lack of time for their education, income, political participation, rest, and leisure. These responsibilities are unpaid domestic works, including care of children and elderly, sick or disabled family members, and household chores that are not valued. These duties are not distributed equally between men and women (Turning Promises into Action:

Gender Equality In The 2030 Agenda, 2018, p. 93).

An insufficient transport system may hurt women's access to the labor market and

reduce their productivity while taking on more household responsibilities. Due to

these responsibilities, women have unique travel demands that need to be

satisfied. Reducing long waiting transport time, facilities, affordability, convenient

location, cultural acceptance, personal safety are the main women's concerns in

transport. In contrast, traditional transport planning has not considered these

specific requirements (Women Employment in Urban Public Transport Sector).

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5-Problem Definition and Aims

The review of other literature and research regarding women's transportation confirms that still in many societies, women's transport values and needs are not known and tackled. The public transport system across Europe often lacks quality, safety, and comfort for women, the disabled, elderly, and children, and transport is an area that needs specific measures and actions regarding equity and sustainability (Maffi, 2020, p. 26).

All Nordic countries are known as gender-equal countries in the world.

Furthermore, Sweden is known as one of the most gender-equal countries and ranked first between 2005 and 2017 in the EU on the gender equality index (Gender equality index 2019: Sweden). Sweden is a developed country, and women and men almost enjoy equal rights in many aspects of their lives in society.

The private car is accessible for nearly everyone in urban and rural areas. Based on the above facts and figures, we might take it for granted to study the women's public transport system's effectiveness in Sweden, especially in small areas. Also, to explore their specific challenges, perspectives, feelings, and expectations from the public transport system and understand the probable link between public transport and their empowerment.

Some studies have already discovered Swedish women's mobility needs from different perspectives. Moreover, they tried to understand the mobility difference between Swedish men and women, the various transport behavior among Swedish women, Swedish women's environmental transport attitudes, their participation in the transport policymaking process, and the effect of this participation to fulfill women's needs. Most of them are based on a quantitative method and do not explicitly discuss women's mobility behavior and needs in less populated and small areas. So the first aim of this study is to:

1- To study the public transportation system's effect on women's empowerment, health, and well-being and understand how easy access to public transport will improve women's economic situation, business opportunity, and social lives in specifically small urban areas.

Henceforth the global strategy, the Swedish government, has aimed to apply

gender-mainstreaming in all areas of its citizens' life, including their mobility, and

has tried to integrate gender mainstreaming in the transportation system and

developed the gender-equality as a goal of transportation systems. Gender equality

has two qualitative and quantitative aspects. The quantitative part of gender

equality indicates the equal distribution of women and men in society, including

the power positions. At the same time, qualitative gender equality refers to given

equal weight to men and women experience and values to direct all areas of society

(Women and men in Sweden 2018, Facts and figures). According to the Swedish

Ministry of transport, all citizens should have equal access to safe, environmental,

high quality, and gender-equal public transport based on their unique needs.

Women and men should enjoy equal power to influence the transportation system, have equal opportunity to participate in the design, structure, and administration part(Proposition 2001/02:20).

Many countries have known Sweden as their role model for gender equality and the high women representation in the decision-making process. Nevertheless, some areas in this equal society need to improve for addressing the discrimination between men and women. We can refer to women representation in policymaking and municipal level in the transport system in Sweden, which is low and a dominant male sector (Lena Winslott Hiselius, 2019, p. 1). The second aim of this study is to:

2- To study gender equality and gender mainstreaming implementation on the local project and understand its effect on providing gender-sensitive public transport with women's empowerment's ultimate goal.

Moreover, this study is when the pandemic of COVID-19 is the primary concern of the world. The times that mobility has changed dramatically, and the number of travels is reduced. Everyone should protect themselves. Based on the government's advice, people prevent using public transport and work from home as far as possible to prevent them from getting or spreading the virus. The other aim of this research is:

3- To contribute to an understanding, any change in the research participants'

attitudes of the public transport system through their description. Whether

they will trust and use public transport in the future the same as before

pandemic COV-19?

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6-Methods

This chapter presents the research's scientific approach, the method used for data collection, and how the selection of informants has been realized, and how the research was conducted. The study's ethical considerations are also presented in this chapter.

6-1- Design

In this study, an in-depth semi-structured interviewing method has been applied for gathering the data. I choose the qualitative method concerning my research to better understand the women's problems and barriers concerning the local public transport system and its effectiveness in supporting their needs. With this method, they could be able to express their thinking more effectively in their own words.

A qualitative in-depth semi-structured interview is the most extended method within the feminist research framework, supporting feminism's principle (Bryman, 2012). The interview method helps gain a better insight into peoples' opinions and gain a new perspective about their way of life in a particular community (Hesse-Biber, Brooks, & Nagy, 2007). In a semi-structured interview, a not hierarchical bond between interviewer and interviewee will be created. This good relationship will develop a two-way commitment and help for a better understanding of the feelings and ideas and improve the research result (Bryman, 2012). An interview is a way for feminists to share women's issues that they studied in their research with a broader population (Hesse-Biber, Brooks, & Nagy, 2007).

The semi-structured method is general, and there is no necessity to follow up with a set of fixed questions. The interview is conducting so that the interviewee's point of view is essential, and the interviewer can add new items based on the replies and change the questions' order or phrasing.

Refer to Shulamit Reinharz (Reinharz & Davidman, 1992), the interview is a way to find peoples' ideas, thoughts, and memories in their own words rather than the researchers, and this way is essential for the study of women's opinion because it is an antidote to centuries of ignoring women's ideas altogether or having men speak for women.

Following the reflexive methodology in this research, I tried to be aware of my standpoints to provide more effective analysis as a feminist searcher. Reflexivity meaning that social researchers should be thoughtful about their methods, values, biases, knowledge, and decisions of the social world they develop, and they need to be aware of their cultural, political, and social backgrounds (Bryman, 2012). I needed to be conscious of the preconceptions that might affect my research.

6-2- Data Gathering

In qualitative research, the face-to-face interview is generally the most conventional way. I have conducted my research during the Covid-19, which is undoubtedly a specific time. According to the Covid-19 pandemic situation, I have been adapting my research based on the pandemic's obstacles. I had restraint in data collection and interviewing the participants who were involved in my research. At the beginning of emerging the epidemic, I decided to postpone my research, but after two months, the social distancing remained a measure that needed to follow. Therefore I decided to change the face-to-face interview to the phone -interview. Moreover, I decided to add some questions regarding the pandemic. At this particular time, I try to keep in mind that this situation impacts everyone, and people might answer my questions regarding the transport system differently than before. I wanted to know how much the pandemic influences the data gathering. The threat of the virus might affect my research participants' point of view and their behavior regarding public transport to commute or even the kind of jobs they might prefer to have in the future. I thought it is crucial to understand how Covid-19 will impact the peoples' transport needs and be conscious of the ongoing situation and its effect on my research data.

Although the interview by phone might be more relaxed in some cases, such as asking sensitive questions, it has specific issues. Most importantly, it is impossible to take advantage of body language, which helps better understand the interviewees' feelings, including their discomfort or confusion. This issue is critical in a semi-structured interview method that the creation of relationships and understanding the sense of interviewees is significant. Another disadvantage is the possibility of technical problems and a weak line.

To add to the above issue, phone interviews have another disadvantage because the interviews were conducted in English, my second language, and the interviewees' second language. And communication with a second language is much more productive with body language and eye contact.

In this research, I had a series of essential items that were important to cover all of them, although keeping the order of questions was not critical. During the interview, I tried the best to follow up on the framework, but with this method, I could be flexible and add some new questions, and this is the feature that makes the interview attractive (Bryman, 2012).

For doing my interview in the best way, I tried to be structured and explain the

purpose of the interview to interviewees, and at the end, ask them whether they

have any questions (Kvale, 1996). I tried to ask easy and straightforward questions

during the interview (Kvale, 1996). Moreover, I tried to be gentle and let people

think and finish their statements. Furthermore, I tried to listen carefully and be

sensitive to what the interviewees say, asking questions to clarify their ideas

without imposing any meaning (Kvale, 1996).