The Gender Data Gap in Mobility – A systematic guide to gender-sensitive data in mobility research
The Gender Data Gap describes the problem of missing or unproportional representation of women in data sets. However, the Gender Data Gap goes beyond the pure composition of data sets. It also occurs when data do not contain the right information about the reality of women’s lives in our society. Accordingly, to obtain realistic mobility data, such questions must be asked that reflect relevant aspects of women’s mobility. By insufficient and biased representation of women, mobility data sets lack scientific quality, leading to biased assumptions and recommendations for future mobility. This article provides recommendations to avoid a Gender Data Gap in mobility by looking at empirical research in mobility. The relevance of gender and everyday mobility and an overview of the process of empirical research and its quality criteria are provided. The background of the Gender Data Gap in mobility is explained with five main gender biases in the field. Following the process of empirical research, recommendations are given using examples from the German Mobility Panel MiD 2017 and literature. These recommendations can be used to avoid a Gender Data Gap in mobility by showing how data can be systematically collected and used in a gender-sensitive way. The quality of mobility data can be improved by including women’s perspectives on mobility.
The preprint can be downloaded via ResearchGate: (PDF) The Gender Data Gap in Mobility – A systematic guide to gender-sensitive data in mobility research