Why urban Indian women turn down better job opportunities away from home

Women in urban India turn down better employment opportunities further away from home in favour of lower-paid local opportunities as the public transport system is often unreliable or unaffordable, according to a 2017 study by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDS), a global non-profit that designs and implements high quality transport systems and offers policy solutions.

Safe, comfortable, convenient and affordable transport can play an important role in not only helping meet women’s practical needs such as access to schools and markets but also in contributing to their strategic empowerment by facilitating access to social and economic opportunities, the study said.

No more than 14 per cent of trips made by employed urban women are by sustainable modes like public transport, walking and cycling. “In the coming decade, cities will need to make a concerted effort to improve women and girls’ experience of sustainable modes of transport to achieve a target of 40 per cent of all trips,” said the ITDS study.