Gender Diversity in the Transportation Workforce – Challenges and Strategies for Inclusion

The primary objective of this research is to develop a technical report identifying the current challenges associated with female representation in the transportation industry workforce and the state of practice research highlighting reasons why this lack of diversity in the workforce occurs and strategies for alleviating it. The report will identify, to the extent possible, differences in challenges observed and specialized strategies for diverse occupations in the industry. Literature review, targeted interviews, and focus group discussions will be used to obtain data for this research. This research will provide recommendations on how to attract and retain more workers to diverse transportation professionals, making it a beneficial tool for industry leaders, policy makers, politicians, and the academic community to overcome some of the current workforce shortage challenges. Additionally, agencies that are looking to improve their business culture and attract more employees are expected to be end users of this research.

USDOT Priorities:

This project directly supports the USDOT strategic goal for equity. By improving the diversity of the transportation workforce, more perspectives will be integrated into the design and operation of our transportation systems. This contributes to reducing inequities by ensuring greater representation, and voice, of all demographic groups in the transportation workforce as decisions are made that impact communities. The project also directly supports the USDOT strategic goal for organizational excellence. A more diverse and inclusive transportation workforce will result in greater innovation and more comprehensive solutions to future transportation challenges.