Macho behaviours in the transport workplace must change, senior politicians have said in support of International Women’s Day on Monday.
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Research by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Women in Transport and industry group Women in Transport finds that over two thirds of women agreed that the sector had a macho culture, with seven in 10 perceiving the industry to have an image problem.
It also found that 70% of the women surveyed said they had experienced discriminatory behaviour or language.
“Our report provides a stark warning that we are not doing enough and unless we challenge what can be seen as macho culture, the transport sector will miss out on exceptional talent,” said APPG for Women in Transport chair Ruth Cadbury MP.
“I am hopeful this new research will ignite positive change for the industry and will make the transport sector a more diverse and an inclusive place to work.”
Transport Select Committee chair Huw Merriman MP added that the headline figures of the report cannot go unchallenged.
“The transport sector has always been the engine for ideas, innovation and change; we need new transport pioneers more than ever,” he remarked. “The sector needs to reflect the country at large and barriers to entry need to be knocked down.”
On a positive note, women surveyed were overwhelmingly proud to work in the transport sector (83%) and were likely to recommend a transport career to other women (85%).
Katie Hulland, President of Women in Transport said: “While our report highlights many challenges women working in the transport sector are currently facing, it is great to see most of the women we surveyed are proud to work in our industry.”
She added she would welcome Government, parliamentarians and the transport industry to work with the group “to deliver an industry wide campaign tackling the macho culture in transport”.
Recommendations for Government and the transport industry to take forward include celebrating the diverse range of people within the sector and embed flexible working policies as part of recovery from Coronavirus.
To read the thoughts of CIHT chief executive Sue Percy around International Women’s Day, click here.
(Photograph: Mike Garnett - TfL)
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