The gap behind the wheel: why women are still a minority

Less than a third of the Argentine women who could drive (28%) have a driver’s license. This was revealed by a study, published by this newspaper, according to which women start driving later, show more fear behind the wheel, suffer more violence on public roads and have less chance of accessing their own vehicle because the wage gap hurts.

Despite how unequal this scenario is, it is not as unequal as the one that existed barely a decade ago. Although the number of women who drive is still low, it has been growing in recent years. In fact, according to the latest data released by the National Road Safety Agency (ANSV), of the total number of driver’s licenses issued in 2021 at the national level, close to a third correspond to women, the highest value since 2010.

The notable gender gap that persists in vehicular traffic has just been exposed by a sociological investigation promoted by an insurance company with contributions from the organization Mujeres al Volante, according to which 7 out of 10 Argentines do not have driver’s licenses.

The work also verified that the average age at which women start driving is higher than that of men, who in half of the cases obtain their license at 18 years of age.

“This phenomenon is consistent with the lower incentive that women receive when young to learn to drive or get a license, even reflected in the fact that the toys they use as girls are little linked to the road world as private and/or professional drivers,” she explains. Leda Pereyra, a sociologist specializing in urban mobility, a Conicet researcher and the main person in charge of the research.

As her work shows, the fear that some women experience when facing traffic would also be a limitation: 91% of those surveyed actually recognized it as a barrier in their desire to learn to drive.

“Many women manifest fears to get their license, or even women who have already obtained it are unable to overcome their fears to be able to drive on the streets,” acknowledges Lucila Dietrich, creator of the Mujeres al Volante community.

In his opinion, these fears have different origins: own insecurities, accidents experienced by other girls or fear of causing an accident.

“In most families, only the men drive, and the lessons to learn how to do so are usually aimed at sons. Many women obtain their driver’s license when they are older, while men already establish a bond and lose their fear of driving at an early age”, says Dietrich, who also acknowledges that the perception of risk is higher among them.

“Most people agree that women drive just as well or just as badly as men. The prejudices that historically associated women with bad driving are beginning to be disarmed in the social imaginary, a situation that exposes them to situations of daily violence in traffic.

Leda Pereyra
sociologist and researcher

When analyzing the gender inequality that persists in vehicular traffic in our country, another not insignificant reality that the Mujeres al Volante community points out is that the wage gap that harms women makes the savings capacity of many of them less, so it is more difficult to access the purchase and maintenance of a vehicle

TARGET OF MORE AGGRESSION

The insecurity experienced by many women when facing traffic is not unrelated to a reality that the research also reveals: the higher level of aggressiveness they are subjected to when driving.

Many women “experience greater situations of violence” on the road than men and “feel less confident or secure” than men when traveling in public space, especially when it comes to a car or motorcycle and when they walk down the street, he acknowledges. the benchmark for Women at the Wheel.

This perception and differential recognition of the mobility experience is noticed mainly among women and among younger people between 18 and 24 years old and residents of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area.

The study was based on a sample of 400 cases made up of 50% women and 50% men between the ages of 18 and 60, geographically distributed in AMBA (50%), Mendoza (15%), Córdoba (15%), Tucumán (10%), %) and Rio Negro (10%),

“In the majority of families, only the men drive and the training to learn how to do so is usually aimed at the sons. Many women get their license when they are older, while men already establish a bond and lose their fear of driving at an early age”

Lucilla Dietrich
Creator of Women at the Wheel

The violence suffered by women on public roads is mostly identified by the younger population, compared to other age groups, according to the research.

JUST AS GOOD, JUST AS BAD

The truth is that the greater aggressiveness of which women who drive are subjected is not consistent with another aspect that the study shows: the vast majority of people find it indistinct whether it is a woman or a man who drives a bus or a car. taxi or remis or transfer vehicles contacted by apps.

Another interesting fact that emerged from the study is that 7 out of 10 people surveyed agree that women drive just as well or poorly as men.

This indicates that “the prejudices that historically associated women with bad driving are beginning to be dismantled in the social imaginary, a situation that exposed them to situations of daily violence on the road,” Pereyra points out.

In this regard, among the respondents “there is a greater perception of security when the driver of this type of service is a woman,” says the sociologist.

“Today the increase in the professional use of the car by women emerges, which constitutes an opportunity for job opportunities in the current context. This could require support from public and business policies focused on promoting the participation of women in transport, a sector that has historically been highly masculinized”, adds the Conicet researcher.

Nor is there a strong presence of women in driving in the motorcycle world. In the cities covered by this study, women only represent between 14% (AMBA) and 30% (Córdoba) of the trips made as motorcycle or moped drivers.