International Women's Day 2024: Inspiring Inclusion in the Transport Industry
By Jane Fisher, Senior Leadership Group, Transport UK
As with many male-dominated industries, a career in transport was traditionally seen as 'a job for the boys.' However, since the late 20th century, we have witnessed a gradual increase in women in the industry. Presently, women make up just 16% of the UK rail workforce. While there is a positive shift towards gender diversity, this statistic highlights the work that still needs to be done to achieve parity.
Diverse teams bring tangible benefits to the industry. A study conducted by McKinsey & Company has shown that companies with diverse workforces are 35% more likely to outperform their less diverse counterparts. Furthermore, research by Harvard Business Review suggests that diverse teams are better at innovating and adapting to change, which is crucial in an ever-evolving transport industry.
In all industries, including the transport sector, we've seen how integrating a female perspective into decision-making processes can help address existing challenges and prevent future issues. In her insightful book Invisible Women, Caroline Criado Perez shines a light on a world designed primarily for men. The author explains how urban infrastructure, including everything from the size of phone screens, PPE designs and even public seating, fails to account for the needs of women – effectively disadvantaging half of society – the female half.
Actively including the perspective of women in the transport industry helps correct this bias by reshaping our approach to design, safety and accessibility. Transport UK’s train operating companies recently put this into practice by replacing station lighting with brighter and more environmentally sustainable LEDs. This has transformed stations into safer spaces. A well-lit station may seem trivial to some, but dark spaces can be intimidating, particularly to women who may feel threatened in darkness.
This year's International Women's Day theme of 'Inspire Inclusion' resonates with Transport UK’s commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce. 29% of our workforce across the group is female, while nearly 50% of our HQ workforce is made up of women. This surpasses the UK rail industry average of 16%, but we will not rest just yet because we believe gender should not be a barrier to entry into the transport industry.
At Transport UK, we encourage women to pursue careers in transportation through targeted recruitment drives and initiatives to attract diverse talent pools, including hiring more women for train driver positions. Last year, West Midlands Trains (WMT) promoted the children’s book My Mummy is a Train Driver to showcase the opportunities available for women in this role. In July 2023, one of our apprentice technicians also won the Female Apprentice of the Year award at the Women in Rail Awards.
We are also supported by the work of organisations like Women in Rail and Women in Bus and Coach, with our very own Lorna Murphy a director of the latter. By empowering women to take on leadership roles and providing a platform for professionals to come together, share experiences and find female mentors, we are creating a stronger community.
Of course, there is more work to do across the sector to ensure women are actively involved in shaping policies, practices, and strategies to create a better and more representative service for all our customers: male and female, young and old. However, in celebration of International Women's Day, we recognise the achievements of women in the transport industry who are already breaking down barriers, amplifying voices, and fostering inclusivity.