2014 - The Challenges of Enhancing Women’s Mobility: Examples from Road Rehabilitation Projects in Timor Leste and Kiribati

Knowledge about men and women’s transportation needs and patterns cannot be taken for granted. In many transportation projects in developing countries, the relevant social and cultural context of gender differences is not analyzed. Without such knowledge, transport interventions meant to cater to both men and women’s transport burdens cannot be tailored. To capture evidence of the challenges and needs of project road beneficiaries, and women in particular, social benefit surveys that included focus group consultations were piloted in the context of two road rehabilitation projects in the Pacific Island region. The surveys which took place in 2011-2012 covered nine villages with 209 households from Kiribati and ten villages with 360 households from Timor Leste. The results provided examples of constraints affecting the transport access, mobility and safety needs of men and women as well as missed opportunities for improvement. The findings highlighted the challenges and concerns of the intended project beneficiaries regarding road use. No significant differences between men and women were found in relation to the appreciation of road conditions. No gender link was shown in relation to perceived road condition and increased employment opportunities or agricultural productivity. However, there were gender differences in relation to use of modes of transport, personal safety issues and accessing services such as health and education. This review demonstrates the critical importance of collecting gender-disaggregated data for planning and implementing road transport projects, and ensuring that these data are used to adapt project investments to maximize opportunities for both men and women.