The Road to Sustainable Transport Infrastructure: Why cost-benefit analyses need to integrate gender

The document examines the limitations of traditional gender-blind cost-benefit analyses (CBAs) in transport planning and proposes a framework for integrating gender-disaggregated data and qualitative dynamics. Using a case study of a Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) plan in Coimbatore, India, it demonstrates how gender-sensitive mapping can reveal links between infrastructure, women's time poverty, and access to education. The author recommends that planners identify gender-specific dynamics via causal loop diagrams, improve the collection of disaggregated data, and monetize gender-specific outcomes to ensure investments do not inadvertently reinforce existing inequalities.

• Traditional cost-benefit analyses (CBAs) for transport infrastructure are typically gender-blind, failing to account for the fact that different genders experience transportation differently due to gender roles, biases, and cultural contexts.
• Women's mobility patterns are often more complex than men's because they frequently perform care work and household chores, and they are more likely to rely on walking and public transport while facing greater safety concerns and gender-based violence.
• In Coimbatore, India, a 15-year Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) plan involving 300 km of walking and cycling routes is estimated to generate between USD 4.75 and USD 4.93 in societal benefits for every dollar invested, with the largest benefit being USD 395 million in avoided road accident costs over 23 years.
• Integrating gender into systems mapping, such as Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs), can reveal how NMT infrastructure reduces women's 'time poverty' by decreasing congestion and improving access to education and paid work.
• Gender-disaggregated data in mathematical models can highlight how transport investments may disproportionately benefit men, such as in the construction sector where female employment in Asia is only 8% and women in India's informal construction sector earn 30% to 40% less than men.
• The document recommends three specific actions for transport planners: identifying gender-specific aspects via qualitative mapping, improving the collection of gender-disaggregated data, and quantifying and monetizing outcomes for different genders.

APA

Bechauf,, R. (2023). The Road to Sustainable Transport Infrastructure: Why cost-benefit analyses need to integrate gender. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/road-sustainable-transport-infrastructure-why-cost-benefit-analyses-need

Chicago

Bechauf,, Ronja. The Road to Sustainable Transport Infrastructure: Why cost-benefit analyses need to integrate gender. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2023. https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/road-sustainable-transport-infrastructure-why-cost-benefit-analyses-need.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bechauf, |first1=Ronja |title=The Road to Sustainable Transport Infrastructure: Why cost-benefit analyses need to integrate gender |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=22 May 2023 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/road-sustainable-transport-infrastructure-why-cost-benefit-analyses-need |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bechauf2023road, author = {Bechauf,, Ronja}, title = {{The Road to Sustainable Transport Infrastructure: Why cost-benefit analyses need to integrate gender}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/road-sustainable-transport-infrastructure-why-cost-benefit-analyses-need}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }