Raquel Sánchez stresses the importance of incorporating the gender perspective into transport policies in Europe

During the opening ceremony, the Minister emphasised the Government of Spain's commitment to achieving effective equality across all areas of society, and especially in transport and mobility, by incorporating the gender perspective when designed all policies.

"This government has made equality a basic and essential principle, to the point of being one of the axes on which we have based the Recovery Plan for Spain's economy after the pandemic", stressed the acting Minister, who explained that equality is not only a matter of social justice, but that "countries with greater participation of women in society enjoy greater well-being".

"Equality is a commitment of the entire European community," stressed Raquel Sánchez, who applauded all the steps that the European Union and the Member States are taking to put an end to a gender bias "that is not exclusive to the transport sector, but is rooted in social structures and habits".

Thus, the main objective of the conference, organised by the Ministry and in which the Director General for Mobility and Transport for the European Commission, Magda Kopczyńska, also participated by video, is to identify the needs and challenges of the sector to integrate women, either as users or as professionals. To this end, two round tables have been organised with the participation of experts and representatives from various national and international as well as public and private organisations.

Challenges for women as transport users

The first session is dedicated to issues like gender bias when designing transport and mobility routes or methods and tools to achieve equal transport for everyone.

"As users, we observe that women follow well-known mobility patterns, such as greater use of public transport, shorter journeys, travelling with children or the elderly, and greater sensitivity to safety issues," said the Minister, who pointed out the need to take these data into account when designing transport services, both nationally and internationally.

In this first debate, the Special Commissioner for Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda, Carmen Librero; the President of ADIF and European Rail Infrastructure Managers (ERI), María Luisa Domínguez; the scientist and expert in transport and gender, member of the Network of European Ambassadors for Diversity in Transport, Margarita Martínez Díaz; and the expert from the European Institute for Gender Equality, Blandine Mollard, will take part.

Promoting the presence of female professionals in the sector

According to the latest data from the European Commission, only 22% of transport professionals in the EU are women. Therefore, the second round table addresses issues, such as equality in technical careers associated with transport and infrastructures, policies that can be implemented to attract female talent, and the advantages of incorporating women into the sector.

"In a context like the current one, in which there is a shortage of professionals in the sector at the European level, women have a great opportunity to increase our presence," the Minister explained. "It is important to continue supporting training in academic disciplines specialising in engineering, technology and science, which are in great demand in the sector, and to continue facilitating access to professions that have always been considered to be specific to men: pilots, train drivers, sailors and bus drivers, among others," she stressed.

Equal pay is also an important point to take into account when it comes to integrating women in this field, because "we continue to observe that, once women enter the labour market, there is still a pay gap and greater difficulty in accessing positions of responsibility," the Minister observed.

Participating in this second debate are the Director of European Aviation Safety Agency, Montserrat Mestres; the Director of People at ENAIRE, María Aránzazu Hernández; a representative of the European Parliament, Isabel García; the Head of Unit for Social Aspects, Passenger Rights and Equal Opportunities at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, Elisabeth Kotthaus; and the Vice-President of MAFEX, María Concepción Ortega.

Ministry priorities during the Presidency

Within the framework of the Spanish Presidency, Mitma is organising a series of events aimed at promoting the priorities that Minister Raquel Sánchez has outlined before the European Parliament's Transport Committee: to promote more sustainable, resilient and digital transport, putting people at the centre of policies.

In this regard, the Informal Ministerial Meeting of Transport Ministers will start tomorrow in Barcelona to discuss the role of mobility and transport in the social and territorial cohesion of the European Union.

Non official translation