The Road Less Traveled: Women in Transportation Planning

Historically, transportation planning has been a male-dominated practice area, presenting unique challenges for female transportation planners. A distinguished panel of women in transportation planning discusses those challenges and the importance of women’s perspectives to planning more equitable and efficient transportation systems for all.

Panelists share personal and professional journeys and challenges, from a deficit of senior female mentors, to leapfrogged promotions, “mansplaining,” and having to defend their technical expertise. They discuss opportunities arising from adversity, including a strong community of women in transportation planning; mentoring the next generation of women in transportation planning; and women's leadership opportunities that emerged out of equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives.

They explore why transportation systems (historically designed by men, for men's direct commutes) do not effectively support women's more complex travel characteristics (i.e., “trip chaining”), and why women's multipurpose travel is not well served by public transit, even though women are more likely to use transit and non-motorized transportation.

This presentation concludes with a call to action: creating gender-diverse teams that lead to better transportation outcomes. Supporting and elevating women's perspectives ensures our transportation infrastructure meets the needs of all community members.