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

This research paper argues that traditional cost-benefit analyses (CBAs) for transport infrastructure are typically gender-blind and fail to account for the different ways genders use and experience transportation. Using a case study of a Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) plan in Coimbatore, India, the author demonstrates how integrating gender-disaggregated data and qualitative systems mapping can reveal specific benefits—such as reducing women's time poverty and increasing access to education—that are otherwise overlooked in standard economic assessments.

• Transport use is fundamentally gendered because roles, biases, discrimination, and cultural contexts lead different genders to experience transportation differently. Women often have more complex mobility patterns due to care work and household chores, are more likely to rely on walking and public transport, and face significant safety concerns and gender-based violence that restrict their travel, particularly at night.
• Standard cost-benefit analyses (CBAs) used for large infrastructure investments are generally gender-blind and lack specific guidance for incorporating gender considerations. This omission means that transport decisions often miss opportunities to advance gender equality or may inadvertently threaten groups already facing structural marginalization.
• In Coimbatore, India, a proposed 15-year Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) plan involving 300 km of walking and cycling routes is estimated to cost INR 9,895 million (approximately USD 121 million). An integrated CBA using the Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) methodology suggests the project would generate between USD 4.75 and USD 4.93 in societal benefits for every dollar invested, with the largest impact 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 'time poverty' for women. In Indian cities, where women spend about 10 times more time on unpaid domestic work than men, reduced congestion through NMT can lower travel time, enabling women to pursue paid work and education, thereby boosting GDP.
• The potential benefits of transport infrastructure can be undermined by cultural norms and gender-based violence. In India, 56% of women report sexual harassment on public transport, which may lead them to avoid new NMT routes unless safety policies—such as improved lighting and emergency response systems—are implemented alongside the infrastructure.
• Gender-disaggregated data is essential for accurate quantitative modeling because impacts differ by gender even when causal relationships are the same. For example, in the transport sector, women make up only 22% of the workforce in the EU and 8% in Asian construction; without targeted policies, employment benefits from new projects will disproportionately favor men.
• Health benefits from NMT are likely to be disproportionately higher for women in India, as 44% of women do not engage in sufficient physical activity compared to 25% of men. Improved NMT infrastructure can provide critical exercise opportunities for women who previously had limited mobility due to social norms or safety concerns.

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} }