Mobility of urban working women in India: study of Jalandhar in north India

Abstract

The Indian census of 2011 collected for the first time since its inception, sex disaggregated figures on the journey to work along two dimensions- trip lengths and modes of transport. This data was analyzed as part of a doctoral thesis on the mobility of urban working women in smaller cities of India, completed in May 2019. The aim of this paper is to present the census data and illuminate these figures with lived experiences of working women on their journey to work, gathered through primary research in one of the cities studied- Jalandhar in the northern state of Punjab. This approach serves to humanize quantitative data and show how lack of state involvement in solving urban transport problems affects women’s daily lives. The importance of the study also lies in the fact that mobility of urban women in south Asian countries, is little understood. Attempts such as this one may open up pathways to think along gender lines while formulating policies.

Keywords

• India
• urban mobility
• women
• journey to work