APEC Women in Transportation

Overview

In 2011, the U.S. Department of Transportation called for a special session on women at the 7th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Transportation Ministerial. As a result, Ministers directed the APEC Transportation Working Group to launch a Women in Transportation initiative to develop and implement actions that advance opportunities for women throughout the sector.

The Women in Transportation initiative builds on core principles of APEC’s Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy. Transportation and mobility are central to trade facilitation, sustainable development and economic growth. As countries move to address evolving transportation needs, developing all available human capital is vital to enhancing the transportation industry’s global competitiveness and supply chain performance.

The APEC Women in Transportation effort focuses on identifying barriers and best practices to including women in the transportation workforce, as well as strategies for enhanced opportunities in four key areas of the career continuum:

• Education
• Access to Jobs
• Retention
• Leadership Development

Public-private engagement comprises an integral component of the effort to strengthen the role of women in transportation. Find out more about our stakeholder engagement events:

• Objectives
• Events
• Resources
• Contact

Objectives

Following APEC Transportation Ministers’ initial directives, representatives from the APEC economies collaborated to:

1. Baseline existing data on women’s participation in all levels of the transportation sector across modes and  economies
2. Identify successful practices and strategies  to increase opportunities for women in the transportation workforce
3. Continue the women in transportation dialogue at the Ministerial level

At a recent Ministerial meeting in Tokyo, APEC Transportation Ministers directed representatives from the economies “to build on [their] progress to develop a framework for collection of data and sharing of resources that will enhance opportunities for women in transportation and enable the measurement of progress over time.” The United States Department of Transportation will continue to lead this effort.

 Events

• U.S. Listening Session at the White House (April 4, 2013; Washington, D.C.)
• 37th APEC Transportation Working Group Meeting (April 8-13, 2013; Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam)
• 38th APEC Transportation Working Group Meeting (TBD; Bali, Indonesia)
• APEC Women in Transportation Forum (September 4, 2013; Tokyo, Japan)
• 8th APEC Transportation Ministerial (September 5, 2013; Tokyo, Japan)

Resources

• Summary of Initial U.S. Listening Session (December 14, 2012)
• Summary of Initial Data Review (December 14, 2012)
• Women in Transportation History Timeline
• Women in Transportation History Interactive Collage
• APEC Transportation Working Group
• APEC Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy

Contact

Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs Susan Kurland leads the APEC Women in Transportation initiative on behalf of Secretary Foxx.

For questions and further information please contact the APEC Women in Transportation team.