English translation
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Transportation
People's modes and patterns of transportation vary according to the social group they belong to. Most of the available studies cover the different modes and patterns of men and women. Icelandic studies show that the gender distribution of people traveling by public transport is rather equal, while foreign studies suggest that women travel much more by public transport.
Modes of transport
There is a substantial lack of analysis of the modes of transport of other groups; immigrants, people with disabilities, older people, as well as differentiating by wealth/class. All these factors influence people's transportation habits, but have not been studied much. Furthermore, studies and research on transportation habits in Iceland have not explicitly addressed gender and equality perspectives. However, these studies show that there are differences in the modes of transport between different groups, but they do not go deeper than that. The prioritization of projects relating to transportation in Iceland has also not been analyzed based on gender and equality perspectives, which would be important to do because research indicates that such prioritization is often based on the needs of men. This is because, until now, transportation has been a male-dominated industry, and managers have most often been men. Since the transition in transportation is an important part of the path to a carbon-neutral society, it would be necessary to analyze the overall policy of the Government and municipalities in these matters from a gender and equality perspective. Only then can success and efficiency be truly measured.
Research on transportation habits
More attention is needed to research and study the transportation habits of different groups in society to find out where time and money are best spent to benefit as many people as possible.
About a decade ago, the gender impacts on the priorities of transportation projects were first analyzed abroad. This impact has not been studied in Iceland so it is therefore difficult to assess whether the transportation patterns and needs of men are primarily taken into account when planning and prioritizing projects. There are also no studies that focus on analyzing people's transportation habits based on their social status, for example origin, disability, finances, employment and so on.
There are therefore a lot of questions when it comes to analyzing gender and equality perspectives in Icelandic transportation projects.
How does construction affect migration and equality?
Tunnel construction in Iceland has shown that during the construction period the number of men increases, and the construction works often stop the migration of people from rural areas, and even increase the population in the short term.
However, if there is no diversified industrial development, people will start to move away again in a few years.