It Is Time For Women To Take Leading Roles In The Mobility Transition
Cycling News | Critical Reflections | Switzerland
In a groundbreaking moment, Swiss voters rejected a massive highway expansion project; but the true protagonists of this striking change were women, who led the charge against the proposed car-centric policies. And what better way to celebrate them, than by reading their perspective in an article co-created by six women?
Authors: Stephanie Stotz, Yvonne Ehrensberger, Ursula Wyss, Rebecca Mueller
Edited by: Meredith Glaser, Michela Grasso
In November 2024, 52.7% of Swiss voters rejected a massive highway expansion project approved in 2023 by the Federal Council of Switzerland1. And while rejecting a referendum2 in Switzerland is not a surprise for anyone (twelve were held in 2024 alone), witnessing a change in the support for car-centric projects is monumental, especially since prior popular votes had always pushed for an increase in road capacity. However, the most unexpected element was the stark difference in voting behavior between men and women: 61% of women opposed the expansion, compared to only 44% of men.
Women played a decisive role in rejecting this car-centric policy. This rejection is historical and relevant. One, it shows the world that women can and are taking leadership roles in the mobility transition and that women represent key agents of change. Two, it exemplifies the role of gender and gender (in)equity in confronting mobility problems and solutions. The prevalent prioritization of cars on any road burdens women’s lives.
Mobility behavior between genders is different. In general, women are more likely than men to rely on walking, public transportation, and other slower modes of travel. These patterns are not necessarily a result of choice, but rather a multiplicity of factors:
Women (still) earn less than men. Lower wages result in fewer transportation options, limited residential choice. Because of gendered division of labor, placing the burden of care work on women, women earn less and have less time to take jobs that involve long commuting distances. Even in Switzerland, a country typically associated with being highly developed and wealthy, the gender pay gap persists: the total pay gap is 18%, while the “unexplained” pay gap (meaning salary differences between men and women in the same position) is 7% (Foge, 2020).
Women take more trips and shorter trips. Owning a private car can be expensive, and in a one-car household, women walk and/or use public transportation, especially since their daily trips often involve shorter trips with multiple stops.
Care trips and unpaid care work. Traditional gender roles assign tasks related to care work to women (being with children, going back and forth between work and home to prepare lunch, caring for elderly parents, maintaining the household, etc.), and these tasks are typically unpaid and require trip-chaining.
Women move with others. Looking after children and elderly also means moving not individually but collectively, sometimes with different start and end of the journey.
Needless to say, women, as the main caretakers, bear an added burden that directly stems from traffic congestion.
Swiss Women Leading the Way
The campaign for the recent referendum on highway expansion3 was quite hectic; on the pro-expansion side were right-wing parties and the car lobby, while the opposing side was led by left-wing parties and local organizations. The latter’s campaign focused on different aspects: pollution, noise, increased traffic, cost, and environmental damage, and generally did not dedicate space to the gendered realities of mobility. Nonetheless, it was headed by women, such as Mattea Meyer, Co-president of the SP, Lisa Mazzone, President of Grüne Schweiz, and organizations like Women in Cycling. The YES campaign was publicly carried out solely by the (male) federal councillor Albert Rösti, who seemed very confident of winning the vote and tried to downplay evidence of the high external costs of car use while making no effort to specifically address women in his campaign.
Women were mobilized by the fundamental nature of the topic and by the numerous female leaders who took a stand against the highway expansion project. Even well-established male mobility experts raised the issue of female concern and courage in the question of motorized mobility. Another element that might have pushed women to largely vote against the highway expansion is their frustration with the Federal Council publicly neglecting their needs, as shown by the recent victory of the Klimaseniorinnen at the European Court of Justice, refused by many Swiss politicians, or by the raising of the retirement age for women while lowering their pension allowances.
Swiss women, together with many caring men, demonstrated critical leadership, making the rejection of the highway expansion inevitable. The current mobility system is influenced by male decision-makers and wealthy leaders in traffic departments who shape the world according to their lived realities without questioning them. For instance, enlarging motorways does nothing to improve the commute to school for children or help a single mother juggle work, childcare, and a social life. There is evidence that with dedicated female leadership, public spaces become safer, greener, and more inclusive (e.g., Mayor Anne Hidalgo in Paris, Minister of Mobility Elke Van den Brandt in Brussels, former city councillor Ursula Wyss in Bern).
Women are now ready to challenge the status quo and demand spaces that serve their mobility patterns, not spaces that simply perpetuate inequalities without questioning “traditional” ways of life. Swiss women chose to go beyond the imposed reality and strive for a future where they can live to their full potential.
What Now?
In Switzerland, where 70% of car trips are shorter than 10 km, the debate on which solutions to focus on to relieve traffic congestion and provide safe, reasonable mobility options for people has just started. A combination of better public transport options and the development of cycling infrastructure seem to be the way forward for many.
One thing is sure: we need to include more women in the mobility transition. By diversifying the backgrounds of our mobility leaders, we can ideate multiple proposals and solutions capable of fitting different needs. Switzerland needs to focus on creating livable urban spaces, cities of care centered on proximity and livability, where thriving is not a privilege but a right.
The recent referendum marks a milestone in Switzerland by breaking away from the narrative that sees road expansion as the solution to traffic congestion. The alpine country now has a unique window of opportunity to debate which mobility options are most desirable for the future. The 4.9 billion Swiss Francs (€5.2 billion) that would have been spent to expand the highway can now be invested in other projects, and why not on providing safe, just, and climate-friendly mobility options for all? Let’s use them wisely!
On 29th September 2023 the Federal Council approved six projects on Swiss motorways to increase capacity. The costs of these expansion projects would have been 4.9 billion Swiss francs (5.25 billion Euros). The Federal Councils argument for the expansion was to decrease traffic jams, reduce the traffic in built-up areas and to keep up the productivity of the economy.
Referendums are common in Switzerland and part of the direct democratic process. Any decision by the Federal Council or a federal law put in place can be contested by the collection of 50 '000 signatures within 100 days after the publication. With the successful gathering of the signatures, the decision will be put to the people. Four times a year Swiss people vote on referendums and topics that are compulsory to be decided by the people like changes in the constitution.
The first motorway segment in Switzerland opened in 1955. The current length consists of approximately 1 '500 km of motorways. 29.6 billion km travelled on national roads were registered in 2023 of which passenger vehicles constitute 84%. The motorway traffic has doubled since the 1990s. 110’000 vehicles travel daily on the main motorway A1 across Switzerland.
Bibliography:
Autobahn-Ausbau: Die Stimmen der Frauen entscheiden — Tsri
Ausbau der Nationalstrassen - UVEK
Autobahn-Ausbau: 340 Verkehrsexperten empfehlen Nein | Tages-Anzeiger
Bundesbeschluss Velowege - UVEK
Liu, K., Zhang, H., Bo, Y., Chen, Y., Zhang, P., Huang, C., Yu, Z., & Gao, Z. (2024). Ambient air pollution and children's health: An umbrella review. Atmospheric Pollution Research, 15(6), 102108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2024.102108
NEIN zum masslosen Autobahn-Ausbau am 24. November
Persönliche Botschaft gegen den masslosen Autobahn-Ausbau erstellen
Reche, C., Tobias, A., & Viana, M. (2022). Vehicular Traffic in Urban Areas: Health Burden and Influence of Sustainable Urban Planning and Mobility. Atmosphere, 13(4), 598. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13040598
Shirgaokar, M., Lanyi-Bennett, K. I’ll have to drive there: How daily time constraints impact women’s car use differently than men’s. Transportation 47, 1365–1392 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-018-9969-1
Wyss, U., Liebi, M., Rérat, P., Lehmann, C. Velowende – Für eine lebendige Stadt. 2024. S. 97
Become a Member and endorse our mission.
Interested in writing or sponsoring an article? Send us a pitch at media@urbancyclinginstitute.org