Roads mean different things to a man and a woman. Though infrastructure is important to all, most of what we have today, particularly our streets and transit systems, is built to answer a man's needs, rather than a woman's. This often-overlooked fact is critical, given that women make up 40 per cent of the global labour force. The Asia-Pacific region needs an estimated US$1 trillion each year to meet its infrastructural needs. Unsafe and inadequate infrastructure stops women from contributing fully to society. Safer and less crowded roads that connect women with marketplaces is one way of making improvements. A study has found that if women in East Asian economies were given the same access to jobs and productive resources as men, output per worker could rise by between 7 and 18 per cent. Given this, improving the design and delivery of urban and rural infrastructure is a pressing development imperative. Transport, energy, sanitation and other infrastructure can and should be designed with women in mind. After all, men and women use public transport differently. Studies show that women rank personal security and transport costs higher than men, who rate speed as the No 1 issue. Women make important life choices - Can I work outside the home? Where? Can I get my children to school? - based on security and travel costs. Such decisions can have important economic implications: a woman may pick a lower-paid job over a higher-paid one because she feels safer getting to work with the former. Gender-smart infrastructure begins with consultation, where women may share their concerns. For the new metro system in Ho Chi Minh City, for example, women's transport needs, patterns and constraints were mapped first. As a result, plans for the metro included gender-sensitive designs such as child seating, storage for prams and appropriate lighting. Making it easier for women to travel around the city will encourage them to make more journeys, thereby helping to boost the economy. In Asia-Pacific's rural regions, road safety can be a huge issue for women travelling long distances. In one public consultation about a local highway in Papua New Guinea, women were asked about the journeys they made to sell their produce at market. These trips were often uncomfortable and unprofitable. The women endured hours on mountainous roads, crowded in beside the men in public vehicles. Yet, often, their discomfort was not even rewarded at the end of the day: all women consulted said they had been robbed of their profits, on buses or at the roadside. Thus, improving the quality of roads and street lighting and providing more buses to ease the crowding would help these women. These are simple solutions that empower women to sell more and return with the profits in their own - not someone else's - pockets. Improving infrastructure has a disproportionately positive impact on women's life and work. It enhances their safety, renders them more mobile, makes them more productive and hence improves a country's overall development. Karin Finkelston is vice-president of global partnerships for IFC, a member of the World Bank Group. This article is part of a monthly series on women's and gender issues developed in collaboration with The Women's Foundation
