Gender and diversity issues in transport are important topics to many organizations within the road and transport sectors such as the World Bank, the International Transport Forum (ITF), the International Road Federation (IRF), among others. Like them, PIARC has recently decided to reinforce its commitment to address such issues comprehensively. In fact, our Executive Committee decided a few weeks ago, in June, to set up a high-level team which is instructed to develop a strategy to tackle promotion of gender inclusion and diversity across all activities of the Association.

At PIARC, it is our mission to serve the needs of our members and of the road community, and to ensure that roads serve the needs of all their users in their diversity. Diversity covers many factors including sex, race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, among others. It is true that countries and regions throughout the world define diversity in varied ways as a result of demographics, culture, religion, etc. However, gender is a diversity factor applicable and relevant to all countries and all our members. This is why our approach will focus on gender to start.

This new team will provide advice on membership and processes of PIARC, as well as on the work of our Technical Committees and Task Forces. Its analysis will complement the work that is already conducted in two of our Committees, TC 1.1 – Performance of Transport Administrations and of TC 1.2 – Planning Road Infrastructure and Transport to Economic and Social Development (TCs), which specifically address issues of gender equality and diversity. This team will start its work with the objectives being to implement quick-action activities, and to develop a proposal for a strategy on gender inclusion and diversity, which will be submitted to our Council in due time.

Congratulations to Stephen Fidler (Department for Transport, UK) and Sue Percy (CIHT, UK) who have accepted to co-lead this initiative.

Claude Van Rooten