Structural gender disadvantages can compound to hinder women’s access to car ownership or use. In India for example, (as in many other countries), proof of residence is needed in order to obtain a driver’s license.
This requirement is difficult for poor women and men to meet if they live in informal or slum communities but it is particularly difficult for women since they are less likely than the men in their households to have documents such as electricity or water bills in their names (Baruah 2015). Having a license can facilitate other officially regulated activities such as opening a bank account, so that women’s disadvantage in car licensing can have wide ripple effects. While other characteristics, especially class and race, influence the types of transport people use, gender is an important factor within each group.
Transport modes by race and gender in Johannesburg, South Africa 100 80 60 40 20 0
