Empowering, Breaking Barriers, and Creating an Inclusive Future

The public transport sector is a significant  employer in Kenya making over USD 3.9million in gross revenues per day. Women’s roles and positions in African society have diversified over the years with more women taking on what was traditionally considered “male ”jobs and the number of women-led households increasing. The public transport sector remains a male-dominated field by design, and women who enter this sector are commonly subjected to sexual assault, harassment, discrimination, and unsafe working conditions. These barriers contribute to the myth that transportation is a “men-only” field.  Women in Transport seeks to close the workforce gap in the transportation industry by promoting lifelong careers in transportation for women and will ultimately work to attract, retain and advance women in the industry. 

According to Flone Initiative’s recent Gender Equity Assessment, less than 10% of Nairobi’s matatu workforce is made of women and over 80% of those jobs are the lowest paying (conductors and secretarial positions). 76% of women working in the public transportation industry have either witnessed or experienced sexual harassment which includes inappropriate comments, groping, and coercion of sexual favors. Women working in this sector report unfair and unstable working conditions (lack of maternity leave, lack of formal contracts) and overt gender disparities when it comes to hiring, firing and promoting employees. Many women also experience severe public stigmatization including physical and verbal harassment from commuters (both men and women), family disownment and divorce. 

It is imperative to create safe, healthy, and accommodating public transportation systems that can support the free and full movement of all persons. We believe that one of the essential ingredients to accomplishing this is to support the recruitment, retention and promotion of women as workers in the transportation industry at all levels (mechanics, conductors, drivers, owners, managers, etc.).  Flone believes that leadership matters, and we believe in the potential of women’s leadership and values based leadership to deliver social, economic and political transformation for the benefit of individuals, communities, and nations. 

Solutions

The project objectives are to collectively develop women in transport professionals through leadership development training, mentorships and movement building by organizing them into Chapters. Flone Initiative proposes the development of a leadership development program that aims to strengthen and scale-up the Women in Transport chapters targeting 200 women in the 4 cities in Kenya (Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and Nakuru) in 2025.

• Leadership development by building the capacity of women transport workers through professional development courses and mentorship builds their confidence to take up decision-making positions, meet stakeholders and effectively demand change on their own behalf.
• Movement building by organizing women in transport workers into chapters with charter strategy that entails an action plan, election of officials, and calendar of activities whose mandate is to champion and advocate for inclusion in the public transport system and provides more visibility and better platforms for women leadership.
• Meaningfully engaging key stakeholders, including elected policy makers, government officials, matatu owners, union officials, partner organizations, and matatu SACCO (spell out acronym) officials, to provide a platform for increased collaboration and policy change to enhance women’s participation in the sector.
• Increase chapter members’ access to saving and credit facilities towards greater investment by women into the sector’s value chain

Impact

• Increase Women’s Representation: Provide opportunities for hundreds of women to receive training and enter the transport workforce, helping to break down gender barriers and challenge stereotypes.
• Promote Gender-Responsive Policies: Drive the creation of safer, more inclusive public transport systems, addressing the specific mobility needs of women, which in turn will lead to greater economic participation.
• Support Economic Empowerment: By enabling women to access better job opportunities in the transport sector, the initiative will contribute to their financial independence and economic growth within their communities.
• Inspire the Next Generation: Through mentorship and visibility, this initiative will inspire young women to consider careers in transport, building a pipeline of future leaders.
• Leadership development by building the capacity of women transport workers through professional development courses and mentorship builds their confidence to take up decision-making positions, meet stakeholders, and effectively demand change on their own behalf.
• Movement building by organizing women in transport workers into chapters with charter strategy that entails an action plan, election of officials, and calendar of activities while meaningfully engaging key stakeholders including  elected policy makers, government officials, matatu owners, union officials, partner organizations and matatu SACCO officials. 

Please support the initiative via our Every page here: https://www.every.org/flone-initiative-trust-ke/f/give-the-gift-of-better