OP-ED: Closing the Transportation Gender Gap for Professionals and Riders

Everyone has a story to tell. Our stories help shape who we are and help others see the possibilities within their own lives, so they can share their stories, too. As we move into April and reflect on the celebration of Women’s History Month in March, I am honored to be able to share my story as a female leader in the public transportation industry – and a loyal transit rider.

One woman’s journey towards paying it forward

My career began in the technology industry over 25 years ago as the assistant to the CEO of an aerospace software company. While I have continued to focus on technology holding progressively more senior roles in product, marketing and customer success, I never imagined working in transit until I lived overseas without a car and transit became my link to every aspect of my daily life. Though I have navigated a few detours on the road to my current leadership role, I would not change a thing about my journey, and I am thankful for everyone who helped along the way.

For starters, my mom has been one of the most positive driving forces throughout my life. She was a working mother who raised our family and was also an award-winning journalist for most of her career. Having her as a role model inspired my tireless work ethic and my love of storytelling, and it reinforced the importance of relationships and building up those around you, so they can tell their own stories.

I have also been blessed with an incredible professional mentor who I have worked alongside over the past 20 years. He has played an important role in my career progression and professional development, sometimes opening doors when I wasn’t brave enough to do so myself. While I consider myself lucky to have both personal and professional role models and mentors, you do not need to have formal ones in order to benefit from the extraordinary people all around you who are influencing your life. Ultimately, if you surround yourself with amazing people and put yourself on great teams, you are going to learn and grow in different ways from that ecosystem — then it’s great to pay it forward.

Driving careers in the right direction

Even with strong mentors, there is still adversity for women in business, technology and, yes, even the transportation industry. Although the gender gap in the public transit sector exists, there are ways we can continue to close it. For example, WTS International is an organization focused on empowering women in public transportation. This organization continues to make a big impact by providing access to training and development so women can advance their careers. They have championed many amazing women, some who have advanced from an operator or customer service agent to a management position, where they were then able to keep opening doors.

Having strong role models through my life and career inspired me to not only help pave the way for other women working in the transportation industry – but also to advocate for women who use public transit, as well.

Paving a safe path for women using public transportation

In order to make public transportation more accessible for women, we must make decisions that will provide a comfortable and safe journey for all. If we focus on how we structure our transit services and look for ways to improve the transportation process, we can address things like safety, reliability, comfort and flexibility. I believe that is when we will begin to make real progress.

According to a recent Gender and Smart Mobility report, women constitute the majority of public transport users worldwide, with safety and security being the primary factors influencing their mobility preferences. In fact, a study by the Transport Gender Lab found 31 percent of women modified their transfers and routines for safety. While public transportation is intrinsically linked with both geography and community, transit safety is only part of that equation.

Accessibility is a key factor, too. This extends beyond gender to include things like age, disabilities and economic situation. Making riding accessible means offering tools and services to everyone, not just those who live in a big city, have a smartphone, a credit card or who speak English. Education and experience will help pave the way here because public transit connects people to opportunities, and we want to keep making that possible.

A great example worth highlighting is one of our customers — Greenlink Transit in South Carolina. Resulting from one woman's desire to make a difference in her community, the agency was awarded an $8 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration two years ago to implement a transit shelter and safety program. They built shelters along their bus routes with lighting and other ease-of-use functionality to make it safer and more accessible for the riders in their community. This achievement proves you don’t need large amounts of equipment, technology or funds to make a difference. There are grant programs available to transit agencies of all sizes, and making regional systems safer for women — and all riders — should be a high priority because it will help get more riders on board.

We need to share more of these stories, so women entering the industry know transit is a place where they can have a fantastic career with many advancement opportunities (perhaps even changing the landscape of your own community). Reflecting on my career, I have seen significant progression over the past seven years, which coincides with the increased focus on equity, inclusion and diversity in that period — a focus which has been long overdue.

My key piece of advice for women making career decisions: Dig deeper and see which organizations are actually walking the walk, not just talking the talk. Look at the organizational charts and internal promotion opportunities. Are there a variety of genders, ages and ethnicities holding leadership positions? What is being done to ensure people who want to be in a leadership role have access to the education, tools and experiences to get them to where they want to be? That is the real sign of an organization that is committed to equity, inclusion and diversity — and these are the organizations that will continue to lead by example and light the path for women around the world.

As we move forward, closing the gender gap is not just about increasing the number of women in leadership positions, but also creating an inclusive and diverse environment for all. In the transportation industry, we can encourage positive change by implementing policies and programs that support gender equality, promoting women's leadership and providing safe and comfortable transit services for everyone. It is only through our collective efforts that we can make meaningful progress towards a more equitable society, and the transportation industry has an important role to play in achieving the common goal of building a better future for everyone.

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Bonnie Crawford is the vice president and general manager for Umo Mobility, which is a platform business of Cubic Transportation. The Umo platform hosts a flexible suite of products that enables riders to pay fares and plan trips across public and private modes, earn rewards for riding public transit and access real-time information to optimize their mobility experience. 

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