Working together for gender-responsive sustainable transport

[New Delhi, 02 November 2023] – In a significant leap for the global transport sector, different organizations working in the field of gender and mobility – including Safetipin from India, Women on the Move (WotM) from Asia, Mujeres en Movimiento (Women in Motion) from LATAM, and Women Mobilize Women (WMW) announced plans to form a global strategic alliance. This alliance seeks to unite feminist transport initiatives across the world, collectively working towards gender-responsive sustainable transport systems and set a global agenda for the topic looking forward.

Closer Cooperation  

At the 10th Annivesary Conference of Safetipin in New Delhi on the 2nd of November 2023, representatives of Safetipin, Women in Motion, Women on the Move Asia, and Women Mobilize Women jointly announced their closer cooperation.  

Key representatives from these networks, including Insa Illgen and Ariadne Baskin (WMW), Laura Ballesteros (Women in Motion/Mujeres en Movimiento), Kalpana Viswanath, and Urda Eichhorst (Women on the Move Asia), convened at the conference to discuss their future collaboration nd are rallying their network of experts in the field to support this initiative. 

Motivation for Change 

Until now, these initiatives have been working towards shared goals within separate networks and activities. Further, many more networks, projects, and NGOs on the national and local level are actively working towards the same goals, while enjoying less visibility and knowledge of one another. Recognizing the need for even greater efforts at a much larger scale, the driving motivation for this strategic alliance is to steer the transport sector towards a not only sustainable, but also gender-responsive transport transformation. The belief is that by joining forces, the global community can achieve more together than separately. 

What the Alliance Aims to Achieve 

The alliance will serve as the first global meeting place for women in the transport sector and anyone working towards gender equitable transport solutions. The starting point is to provide a digital platform that aggregates the resources and expertise of the regional networks as well as the contributions of initiatives and projects worldwide. The platform will not only encourage networking and collaboration but also elevate the visibility of each individual contributor in our shared mission. 

By kickstarting this process publicly, the networks aim to Identify and unite forces of those working on gender and mobility across the globe. This announcement is particularly directed towards any organization interested in jointly addressing common themes, forming a robust global feminist agenda for sustainable transport policy and practice. 

Vision for the Future 

The primary goal is to empower women and other marginalized groups in the transport sector, allowing them to thrive as both users, transport workers and employers. The alliance will foster the upscaling and cross-fertilization of activities from these individual actors to create a global force for gender-equitable transport.  

The strategic alliance envisions a world where gender-equitable transport systems are the norm. It aims to be the leading voice advocating for such systems in emerging economies, providing high visibility to numerous networks, organizations, and activities dedicated to gender equity within the sector. 

Further Plans for the Alliance 

Women on the Move Asia has plans to collaborate with Women in Motion (Latin America) to introduce their successful Urban Leaders Program to its growing membership in Asia. This initiative is an example of regional networks working together under the umbrella of the Women Mobilize Women strategic alliance to drive the global agenda for gender-responsive transport systems worldwide.  

The strategic alliance marks a pivotal moment in the journey towards gender-responsive sustainable transport, uniting global efforts and expertise to bring about transformative change. 

Interested in joining the process?

Please reach out to us if you would like to support the formation of the global strategic alliance, want to highlight your work on the online platform, or would like to receive updates on the progress. 

For more information and inquiries, please contact: women@transformative-mobility.org