Gender Norms and Transport Project / Transport Financing

Pakistan has low rates of women’s labour force participation compared to countries with similar GDPs, and access to educational opportunities remains a challenge. This contributes to low levels of women’s agency, harming the economy and society of Pakistan. Our project uses an experiment to alleviate a key constraint for women in Karachi—access to safe and reliable transportation—and measure the impact this has on women and their families in the short- and long-term.

As public transportation in the city of Karachi remains underfunded, privately-organized transportation dominates. For men, a convenient mode of transport for their careers and everyday life is the motorbike. Unlike in other countries of South Asia, the rate of women driving their own motorbikes in Pakistan remains low. This means that women compromise safety (riding side-saddle on the back of their male family members’ bikes, or in rickshaws with unknown drivers), convenience (leaving at the time most suitable for them), and cost (with rising prices all around, ownership of a motorbike asset is among the most cost-effective ways for individuals to get around the city on a daily basis).

Our project seeks to provide women with 1) a motorbike training and 2) a motorbike loan.

Participants cannot receive training without being pre-approved for and demonstrating commitment for a loan.