The problem of women's “road unsafety” in Africa

González-Hernández, Brayan; Saporito, Maria Rosaria; Meta, Eleonora; Usami, Davide Shingo; Persia, Luca · 2023 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1016/j.trpro.2023.02.239

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Summary

This paper investigates the gender disparities in road safety within Africa, specifically examining women’s involvement in traffic accidents, their risk perceptions, and their participation in safety policy-making. The study is motivated by the observation that while males generally exhibit higher risk-taking behaviors and constitute the majority of road crash fatalities, the transport sector remains male-dominated with limited female influence on decision-making processes. The authors aim to quantify these differences using data from five African countries to understand how gender impacts crash risk attitudes and the structural inclusion of women in safety initiatives. The methodology utilizes three distinct data sources. First, road traffic crash fatality data from the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Status Report on Road Safety (2018) provides continental and country-specific mortality statistics. Second, the European Survey on Road Users’ Attitudes (ESRA) survey offers self-reported data on driving behaviors and attitudes from a sample of 3,411 individuals (1,925 males and 1,486 females) across Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa. Third, participation data from the SaferAfrica dialogue platform, a project fostering cooperation between African and European stakeholders, is analyzed to assess gender representation in road safety governance. The results reveal significant gender disparities in both outcomes and attitudes. WHO data indicates that 70% of road traffic fatalities in Africa are male (202,029 deaths) compared to 30% female (84,665 deaths), with female fatality percentages varying significantly by country. ESRA survey analysis shows that while gender differences in attitudes are statistically significant in most countries, the magnitude of these differences is often small. However, where significant, males consistently report higher personal acceptability of risky driving behaviors and greater self-efficacy in performing such acts (e.g., driving under the influence or speeding) than females. Conversely, females generally perceive higher risks associated with these behaviors, except in Morocco where males reported higher risk perception. Regarding institutional participation, the SaferAfrica platform data reveals that women constitute only 18–20% of stakeholders, with lower representation in operational and technical roles compared to professional ones. The study concludes that women are significantly underrepresented in African road safety decision-making bodies, mirroring broader trends in the global transport sector. The authors argue that increasing female participation in training, employment, and policy-making is essential to ensure that road safety strategies address the needs of all genders. They note that while self-reported data has limitations due to social desirability biases, the findings highlight a critical gap in gender inclusion that must be addressed to improve overall road safety conditions in Africa.

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Topics

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• sex gender
• demographic disparities