Women today are shattering glass ceilings, pushing boundaries, and creating strides across fields. But even after constituting a significant chunk of the workforce, there’s one pressing issue that continues to pose a challenge every day—commuting to and from work safely. While this is a routine activity, it can often be a daunting experience for women.
Whether commuting using public transportation or driving alone, women face unique safety risks that can impact their overall well-being and workplace performance.
Research suggests 55% of women have experienced harassment or assault on public transportation. Even when driving to work alone, women can be subject to safety concerns like stalking, robbery attempts, etc.
In this blog, we’ll discuss the challenges women face while commuting to work daily and the steps that can be taken to address their safety concerns.
Challenges Women Face When Commuting to Work
For most women, commuting to work can be a complex chore with unique risks. From bigger challenges like safety concerns to smaller inconveniences like navigating crowded public transportation, these issues can significantly impact their mental health and productivity.
Moreover, looking at the alarming crime rates against women, the current situation is hard to ignore. Let’s look at some challenges women face while commuting that must be addressed.
- Safety Concerns
Women often fear for their safety when traveling alone or at odd hours. Events of harassment, assault, and theft are significant concerns, particularly in crowded public transportation, poorly lit areas, or isolated places. And that’s not all.
Unwanted attention, catcalling, verbal abuse, and groping are unfortunate experiences that women might face while commuting. These incidents can create a hostile and uncomfortable environment, affecting their sense of security and well-being. As a result, they might refrain from exploring job opportunities in new areas or picking up late-night shifts.
- Public Transportation Challenges
50.8% of women and girls say they have experienced more than one type of violence while using public transport. These crowded spaces can often be a hub for uncomfortable encounters. Moreover, in some areas, women have limited access to safe and reliable transportation options due to a lack of proper infrastructure, such as well-lit streets or inadequate public transportation, crammed buses and trains, long waiting times and cancellations, etc.
This not only leaves them feeling unsafe and vulnerable but can also restrict them from reaching their destinations timely.
- Gender-based Discrimination and Bias
When it comes to equality and inclusivity, we’ve definitely come a long way. But there’s still a long way to go. Women today are still subject to gender-based discrimination and bias when commuting using public transportation. For example, unequal treatment, stereotyping, unwanted advances, lewd comments, unsafe waiting areas, etc.
Moreover, packed subways or buses give perpetrators the opportunity to take advantage of the crowd and exploit women. These experiences contribute to a sense of fear, a threat to personal safety, and an invasion of privacy.
What Can We Do to Solve These Challenges?
Now that we know the different safety challenges women face while commuting to work daily, we must shift our focus toward potential solutions and measures to address them. Here are some steps that can help create a safer and more inclusive commute environment for women-
- Policies to Ensure Employee Safety While Commuting
If you don’t have strict policies yet, it’s time to do. These policies should include guidelines on the company’s expectations of employee behavior, measures to report harassment or assault, and support and counseling services for women. You can also partner with the police department or community organizations to improve safety.
- Flexible Work Hours and Remote Work Options
If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that most companies can continue to operate efficiently in a remote or hybrid setup. If you can’t take that route, consider implementing flexible timings and letting employees determine their own work hours. This can help female employees avoid crowded public transportation and potentially unsafe situations.
- Providing Commute Facilities for Employees
You can have an in-house fleet of cabs or shuttles to manage employee commutes. This gives your female employees access to safe and reliable transportation options, allowing them to commute comfortably without safety concerns.
- Using an Employee Transport Management System
You can turn to an automated transport management tool to bring more efficiency to your fleet. It comes with a ton of safety features like real-time tracking, emergency SOS, driver verification, etc., that make employee commutes safer, giving them more control.
To Wrap Up
Commuting to the workplace safely need not be a chore. But for millions of women worldwide, this is exactly what it is. If your female employees are commuting to the office daily, it is your ethical responsibility to ensure their safety. And leading providers like MoveInSync help you achieve this seamlessly.
Their employee transport management tools are packed with innovative safety features that ensure your employees reach their destination safely without burdening your in-house fleet. Visit their website to get your free demo today.
