Everybody Wins When More Women Are in the Transportation Industry

EVERYBODY WINS WHEN MORE WOMEN ARE IN THE TRANSPORTATION

INDUSTRY

KRISTIE DRAWE

Final Report

Submitted to the Capstone Project Committee

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Engineering Technical Management

Texas A&M University

Professor, Professor Dr. Behood Zoghi Project Sponsor Diane Woodend Jones, Lea+Elliott

IRB2021-0098, Approved 01/29/2021

DEDICATION

To the bold and strong women and men who are taking a stance to accelerate our world to eliminate gender biases and discrimination against women and girls.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The thought of writing a paper and conducting national research study can feel daunting.

But this journey has not felt like an isolated project. My first thanks must go to Ms. Diane

Woodend Jones, who has been an incredible resource and mentor, eliciting questions that have helped sharpen my logic. As the Chair of WTS International, her commitment to equity and access for women in transportation careers has created opportunities for me to partner with intelligent leaders who were part of the beta test group* and provided me with access to survey participants in the transportation industry. I would like to thank my department head and course professor, Dr. Behood Zoghi for believing in the paper’s vision with unadmitted incredible enthusiasm and providing nothing short of his full authentic support.

I want to thank the survey participants who contributed to the richness of the paper. My appreciation for institution support from Texas A&M and my professional network contacts who have reached out and extended generous encouragement.

In turn, I am deeply grateful to my company for championing the value to the future of the transportation industry, my dear friends for the understanding when I have disappeared for some time during this endeavor, and those who have reviewed this paper in its entirety and provided valuable feedback. To my grandmother, in loving memory.

Finally, gratitude and love to my siblings, and my mother and father for their continuous encouragement and for raising me to be a woman who is empowered to press on.

*Beta test group: Linda Bi, Lillian Borrone, Briana Humphrey, Licco Lee, Karen Philbrick, Jerry Premo, Karen Price,

Hilary Nixon, and Sara Stickler.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

DEDICATION ...... 2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... 3

LIST OF TABLES ...... 6

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 7

I. PROPOSAL ...... 9

II. INTRODUCTION ...... 16

A. The Past & the Future of Transportation ...... 16 B. The Perception of Transportation Culture ...... 17 C. What is a Man's role in Winning More Women? ...... 18 D. Value-added with Gender Inclusivity ...... 19

III. LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 20

A. Recent Movements ...... 21 B. Findings from Recent Research on Transportation Professionals...... 21 C. Findings from Recent Research on Engineering Students ...... 22 D. Return of Investment ...... 22

IV. METHODOLOGY ...... 24

A. Research Design ...... 24 B. Participants ...... 25 C. Instruments ...... 27 D. Procedure ...... 38 E. Data Analysis Plan ...... 38 F. Risk ...... 39

V. ANALYSIS ...... 40

A. How Close Are We to Gender Equity? ...... 41 B. Barriers at the workplace ...... 42 C. But wait, students had expectations of gender inequality? ...... 44 D. Are we doing enough? (How Effective Are Organizations in Achieving Diversity?) ...... 45 E. Can we see a positive trend in gender equity? ...... 46 4

F. How will an improvement of gender equity change our organization or the world in which we live? ...... 48

VI. RETURN ON INVESTMENT ...... 53

VII. RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION ...... 55

REFERENCES ...... 57

APPENDIX A SURVEY FOR PROFESSIONALS ...... 61

APPENDIX B WRITE-IN COMMENTS FROM THE SURVEY FOR PROFESSIONALS ...... 73

APPENDIX C SURVEY FOR STUDENTS ...... 103

APPENDIX D WRITE-IN COMMENTS FROM THE SURVEY FOR STUDENTS . 113

APPENDIX E TERMS AND DEFINITIONS ...... 118

APPENDIX F TOOLS AND RESOURCES ...... 119

APPENDIX G SUGGESTED READINGS ...... 120

LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 1. QUESTION 1 RESPONSES BETWEEN FEMALE AND MALE PROFESSIONALS 41

Table 2. QUESTION 10 RESPONSES BETWEEN FEMALE AND MALE PROFESSIONALS. 42

Table 3. QUESTION 9 RESPONSES BETWEEN FEMALE AND MALE PROFESSIONALS. 43

Table 4. QUESTION 15 RESPONSES BETWEEN FEMALE AND MALE PROFESSIONALS. 43

Table 5. QUESTION 1 RESPONSES BETWEEN PROFESSIONALS AND STUDENTS. 44

Table 6. QUESTION 9 RESPONSES BETWEEN PROFESSIONALS AND STUDENTS. 44

Table 7. QUESTION 10 RESPONSES BETWEEN STUDENTS WITH INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE, AND WITH NO INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE. 44

Table 8. QUESTION 7A RESPONSES BETWEEN FEMALE AND MALE PROFESSIONALS. 45

Table 9. QUESTION 8 EXAMINES PROFESSIONALS WHO WANTS TO SEE MORE GENDER EQUITY PROGRAMS AND ARE WILLING TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAM. 47

Table 10. QUESTION 1 RESPONSES BETWEEN PROFESSIONALS WITH MORE THAN 25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, AND PROFESSIONALS WITH 5 YEARS OR LESS OF EXPERIENCE. 46

Table 11. QUESTION 14A RESPONSES BETWEEN PROFESSIONALS BY GENDER. 48

Table 12. QUESTION 9 RESPONSES BETWEEN FEMALE AND MALE STUDENTS. 49

Table 13. QUESTION 14A AND 16A RESPONSE BETWEEN FEMALE AND MALE PROFESSIONALS. 50

THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The objective of this paper provides an analysis and evaluation of the current workplace landscape on gender equity, culture and support, career advancement opportunity, perceptions on gender demographics and their relationship to company success and a more user-friendly transportation system. The main method of analysis compared responses collected from transportation professionals and university students with an interest in transportation. While the survey responses show that both professionals and students recognize that organizations would benefit from a more equitable workplace, and that my additional literature review demonstrates the positive return on investment of a more equitable workspace, the data shows women feel that gender equity has not been achieved, and that opportunities are not the same regardless of gender, while less men feel the same way. On the contrary, more male students than female students recognize that both employees and the organization would benefit from an increased percentage of women in the workplace.

This study concludes that organizations in the transportation industry would benefit from the following initiatives:

1. Providing opportunities for training and/or information sessions on how to

recognize gender bias and how to avoid it in the workplace.

2. Evaluating and standardizing pay.

3. Considering flexible work options.

4. Reviewing the organization’s recruiting strategies.

I. PROPOSAL

According to a recent study, women represent only 15% of the transportation industry workforce [1]. It has been widely known and somewhat accepted as a cultural norm that most transportation industry jobs are filled with men. The Transportation

Research Board (TRB), one of seven program units of the National Academies of

Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, is interested in this topic's findings. In the midst of the Third Women's Issues in Transportation conference hosted by the TRB, the issue was raised that planning has not been done to examine if opportunities are created in a gender-neutral or unbiased style for women to pursue careers in transportation.

Furthermore, less attention may have been paid to women workers' needs in the ergonomics of their work environment that they are expected to drive or work in makes these jobs less attractive, such as a more flexible work accommodation. This discussion took place during the conference in 2007, and the research has not been done as of today. News highlights in recent years have shown, more than ever, a defining global movement for equality and justice that is bending the arc for history to a turning point of reconciliation and rejuvenation.

An overview of the current transit systems across the board in the US shows that most transit agencies offer similar ridership experiences for the communities without anomalies. These systems were built by decision-makers and political stakeholders, who ultimately created our current transit system at the outset. When the percentage of women employees as compared to male employees in the transit agency is low, the workforce's disparities in the transit agencies' workforce are evident and underlying, and

sometimes hidden, consequences emerge. As a result, these transportation systems do not serve all riders equitably. This can be seen by the lack of intentional designs that serves nursing mothers' needs, families with strollers, disabled riders, maintaining clean restrooms for families with children, and safe and reliable experience for all commuters.

The real problem is the low percentage of female representation in the workforce, which results in even fewer women in key leadership positions. Thus, when the organization profile is not representative of the customers, they serve, let alone the number of women who have a seat at the table when decisions are made, the details that lead to a world- class sustainable transportation system may be omitted, and equitable level of service is hence abated.

To gain a deeper understanding of the impact of this problem, here are some commonly found examples:

● In specific locations in the US, many riders have to witness an act of sexual assault, harassment, or physical during their daily commute.

● Due to personal safety reasons caused by the lack of access to security systems or personnel available on public transportation services, women who might otherwise take public transportation to work have opted to use alternative methods. Shared-ride services, biking, or walking were preferred despite a longer commute time.

● Many families who travel with children or strollers are often discouraged from using transit due to broken escalators and elevators or other constraints.

● Many women do not feel safe traveling at night and therefore, often change behaviors to feel safer (wearing tennis shoes and more modest clothing).

● The travel patterns of women are also different, more trip chaining of combining multiple activities together is commonly used.

There are many more examples of riders who have expressed their concerns and anecdotes, some disturbing and echoing through online platforms such as Twitter,

Reddit, and others. What are transit agencies doing that prevents more harassment and assault in public? Is this being examined from the perspective of a solo female traveler?

Public transportation systems were ultimately constructed as an available service that benefits the communities economically, reduce traffic congestion, reduce air pollution, and increase mobility. Unfortunately, these issues impact the transportation industry by further discouraging at least half of the public (since women make up 50% of the population) from using public transportation.

An increased representation of women in the transportation industry, especially as decision-makers, can positively improve many of the rider's experience. This study,

"Everybody Wins when More Women are in the Transportation Industry" examines constraints in the US public transportation system that make it exceptionally challenging for women to be active members of the professional community and the perceptions and attitudes of women and men on gender equity. By understanding the root of the problem, one can interpret the low percentage of women representation in the transit industry.

Truly, there must be constraints in the system that discourages women from entering or staying in the transit workforce. This study emanates from the Capstone Course to fulfill the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering Technical Management at

Texas A&M University located in College Station, Texas. It took approximately eight

months to complete. The relative importance of the problem is high. While women make

46.5% of the overall labor force, they only represent 15% of the transportation industry workforce. At the same time, women represent ~ 50% of the customer base of the transportation industry customers. The research tries to understand why such a discrepancy exists, what the impact is, and what can be done to reduce it. Due to the nature of the study and the data collected, the study does not precisely measure the return of investment of narrowing this gap but focuses on possible solutions. This study considers both public and private sectors, including government agencies, private companies, and academic institutions. This study does not directly benefit the company sponsor.

The study's proposed outcome identifies barriers that to be removed to increase the talent pool and offer any recommendations which allows more women the opportunities and vested interest to pursue a career in the transportation industry. What will it take to attract more women to careers in transportation and ensure that they thrive equitably with their male counterparts? This study focuses research on two groups: a) Professional working men and women who are currently employed in the transportation industry. a) Male and female university students who are currently pursuing an engineering degree with a transportation program at the undergraduate or graduate level or graduated students who have not entered the workforce.

The participants from the first group were invited to participate in the survey through transportation organizations and professional contacts. The goal studies any

constraints in their systems that discourage women from participating and continuing to progress in their careers professional roles. The participants from the second group are from public and private research universities with an interest in transportation careers.

The goal is to study the perception of the transportation industry from the lens of university graduate and undergraduate male and female students before they enter the workforce. What about the transportation industry intrigues or deters the students from entering the transportation industry workforce? A combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods was conducted. Surveys were provided to men and women in the transit industry, and open-ended questions were collected as part of the survey for the qualitative analysis. Upon completion, this study is available as a resource with the following sources: WTS International, Eno Center for Transportation, TRB,

TRB Committee AME20: Women and Gender in Transportation, Transportation engineering programs at public and private research universities, survey participants,

Mass Transit, and the company sponsor Lea+Elliott. Subsequently, the ideal solution are three-fold:

1. To identify the policy and practices of women in the transportation workforce so that there is greater inclusivity and a sense of value for women within that organization.

2. To raise awareness of any barriers to incorporating gender-sensitive thinking into the decision-makers of an organization, which has not been widely practiced in the industry.

3. A change in policy and design standards in the current systems of transit agencies.

This study aims to call for awareness of an inclusive workplace that promotes gender equality to establish a thriving workforce that creates a better ridership experience for their communities. Realistically, the work needed to achieve the purpose of the study is a wayfaring odyssey through transformational culture and leadership. In a progressive future state, gender equality in the transit industry promotes a shared culture where women are valued to lead social, environmental, and other innovations. A diverse workplace has proven to yield a better return of investment for the organization. To be profitable in a globalized economy, organizations need to represent all of their customers, from the ground up, to be a diverse entity. This study provides recommendations that transit agencies and professional employees can use as tools or ideas to promote equity into their current workforce or personal lives.

The scope of this study is comprehensive; all women and men in the transportation industry are encouraged to participate in the study. It is intended that the survey is made available to members and officers of the TRB committee mentioned above, university academic advisors, transportation engineering professors, WTS members, and anyone who requests it. In the end, the study reflects the contemporary issues regarding equity, and project success is based on the reader’s understanding, interpretations, perception and point of view of the topic.

"Everybody Wins when More Women are in the Transportation Industry" provides an insight into the current constraints for women pursuing lifelong careers in transportation and gives recommendations for a more inclusive workforce. When leaders welcome and celebrate inclusivity as imperative to optimize their effectiveness and

growth potential, a competitive edge is gained. At the outset, diversity is not a box to be checked. Instead, it is a conversation that leads to action, which ultimately brings everyone a sense of belonging to the collective consciousness of the organization. What's the future of transportation? Who will represent the owner of the transit agencies? Only decisions made today will determine tomorrow.

II. INTRODUCTION

“Progress is being made, but a lot of women are realizing it is not what they envisioned." [2] stated Elaine Chao, the 18th United States Secretary of Transportation, who oversees a $76 billion budget. Her role is responsible for regulating drones and autonomous vehicles, and recently stated the following [3]: “Think about the people with disabilities, or the elderly—if you have a self-driving car, they will reclaim their freedom.” Indisputably, the former leader of the Department of Transportation recognizes that society is continuously striving towards gender equality, and our leader is also addressing future challenges and opportunities with the bust of the innovation that are the catalyst for the next transformation to change history. This section addresses the origin and the motivation of this paper.

A. The Past & the Future of Transportation

The transportation industry is a vital force in the world economy and touches every single being on this planet. Transportation is the movement of people, animals, and goods from one place to another. The modes of transport can be by air, rail, road, space, cable, water and pipeline. It has contributed to the growth of civilizations and the rise and fall of countries in history. The earliest trace of globalization was spurred through transportation on the Silk Road, which began a trading network that connected the East and the West in ancient times. In the twenty-first century today, transportation is the next revolution in this hyper-competitive and increasingly complex global economy; a race to create the fastest, most sustainable and safest transportation determines the most advanced technology winner. 16

Who are the drivers, the innovators, the decision-makers, and the engineers that changes the human racecourse? This industry is made of men and women, but it is considered a “male-dominated” industry, similar to the construction, mining, and software industries. Although most of the transportation industry's job requirements do not require men's abilities, which set them apart from women, the number of women working in the transportation industry is low. Could there be hidden barriers and biases that exist in the workplace and at home? Tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.

B. The Perception of Transportation Culture

The transportation industry has historically been male-dominated regardless of the type of transportation: planes, trains, or cars. During the 2018 Transforming

Transportation conference hosted by the World Bank and the World Resources, the group examined the gender dimensions of transport. It publicly recognized that transport is not gender-neutral for the first time [4]. Most women are afraid of being harassed in public spaces while using public transportation. Female participation in the transportation industry as operators, engineers, conductors, and leaders remains low.

While the percentage of women who receive an engineering degree from universities remains steady, the percentage of women who choose a career in the transportation industry remains low. A recent study has shown that roughly 25% of women have actively avoided jobs that are perceived as “men only” [5], including construction, bus driving, and politics. How were these perceptions formed? Who made the rule that men should drive taxis and women should be nurses? In certain countries globally, such as 17

Saudi Arabia, the prohibition that did not allow women to drive cars was recently lifted in June 2018 [6]. A quick images search on Google pulled up a mixture of men and women as bus drivers with the keyword “bus drivers.” However, with keywords such as

“light rail driver” or “truck driver”, women are seen few and far between. Could transit agencies be a part of the problem that they are trying to solve? Is there enough female representation shown in advertising and social media? What is the social stigma, and are there gender stereotypes being represented in the photos online, on banners, or in magazines?

C. What is a Man's role in Winning More Women?

While the gender gap is evident in the transportation industry, finding a male role model who advocates for this issue is rare as finding hen's teeth. The voices for this issue and the conversations occur within female networks instead of everyone's engagement.

When more men than women represent decision-makers, men can also take place as stakeholders who are loudly and visibly creating a narrative around gender equality. A meticulous, cyclical, and ongoing movement around advocacy are the best fuel for change by:

1. Acknowledge that biases exist

2. Show solidarity

3. Challenge gender favoritism or masculinity in the workforce

4. Help transform power dynamics

To obtain the full potential of everyone, gender bias must be acknowledged, recognized, and eventually removed, and equality must be realized. Denying human support based on gender denies the economic, science, and value growth of humanity.

D. Value-added with Gender Inclusivity

An article from Forbes estimated that reaching full gender equality is 217 years away [7]. Although women make up 46% of the labor workforce, statistics show that

94% of Fortune 500 companies CEOs are male. Yet companies that both: have recognized the return of investment in gender diversity performs better than companies that do not. A Deloitte report [8] entitled "The Gender Dividend: Making the Business

Case for Investing in Women" outlines this business case to integrate women in both the workplace and as consumers and to reap the benefits from the dual-focused business model. Why is gender diversity not reached despite the significant business benefits?

This paper aims to identify drivers that both encourage and discourage women in the transportation workforce to understand both the realities of our current workforce and determine strategies to bring more diversity into the future. Through expanding women's opportunities, socioeconomic outcomes are improved, and accelerated economic growth is achieved. Organizations recognize that their competitive advantage lies within their employees, therefore, the emphasis to attract, engage, develop, and retain the best assets will be the differentiator between best and average. As the transportation industry is rapidly evolving and changing, a central focus should be placed on recognizing the gender gap and correcting the biases and barriers that exist in the workplace. Everybody wins when more women are in the transportation industry. 19

III. LITERATURE REVIEW

The topic of gender and the workplace has been a topic of discussion for decades.

A pioneering organization was founded in 1977, which focuses on promoting women's advancement in the transportation industry, then called Women’s Transportation

Seminar, now known as WTS International. The vision of WTS is simple: "Equity and access for women in transportation” [9]. For an organization that has been established for 40 plus years, the human race has witnessed progress and changes, including the following: more women than men hold university bachelor’s degrees, and more females holding government positions, including the most recent United States Vice President

Kamala Harris. However, in light of the recent wins, the vision of WTS still holds: a report showed 13% of women in the transportation workforce in 2008 [10], and a closer examination detailed finding indicated that women comprised 15% of the workforce in

2016 [1]. Despite the almost equal representation of women in the workforce compared to men, the percentage of women being represented within transportation is still low.

In this literature review, an explanation of other researcher’s and author’s findings on this similar topic is elucidated. Barriers do exist that keep women and engineering students from developing careers in the transportation industry. Much of the research has shown that the masculinity culture undervalues women consciously or unconsciously. To counter these predominant barriers, women have offered support to find a place of identity and create the new norm of women working in the transportation industry. However, the work is not completed, and a shift in the culture is still needed.

A. Recent Movements

The most notable movement in the most recent years started with a 2013 best- selling book that has been translated into many languages worldwide, Lean In: Women,

Work, and the Will to Lead. The book sparked and ignited many grassroots meetings within organizations centered around conversations on females in the workplace. Getty

Images contributed by capturing images of women and girls posing positively and authentically to contrast negative and degrading photos of women in the media [11].

B. Findings from Recent Research on Transportation Professionals There are five significant barriers identified and called out from a journal published by the National Academies Press, TCRP (Transit Cooperative Research

Program) [12]:

1. Lack of outreach to women on inclusivity

2. Social factors on men at work performing transit jobs

3. Dominant masculine culture

4. A workplace that exemplifies a safe and healthy environment

5. Understanding and accommodations to flexible work-life balance

Another study explored female employees’ perceptions of the underrepresentation of women in leadership positions. The analysis and the interpretation of the data inferred the following barriers: unconscious bias, gender stereotypes, and the traditional view of women [13]. Also, male colleagues are usually promoted based on their potential and not on their qualifications. On the other hand, women need to prove their qualifications to establish credibility.

C. Findings from Recent Research on Engineering Students A national longitudinal study was conducted in 2009, where over 3,700 engineering students participated in the survey from 30 universities. Out of the female students who obtained an engineering degree but never entered an engineering field,

80% are currently working in a non-engineering industry. A key finding from this group is that the organizational climate did not appeal to the engineering graduates. There is a perception of a lack of flexibility and culture that did not appeal to those students [14].

The next group of findings acutely focused on women who left the engineering industry after five (5) years. Some left due to the amount of travel, lack of advancement, and organizational climate. Findings from currently working women in the engineering field show that the most satisfied employees receive support from their colleagues, given opportunities for development and clarity in the company's advancement opportunities.

D. Return on Investment What is the relationship between gender diversity and the performance of an organization? From an article summarizing the studies conducted by Dwight D. Frink of the University of Mississippi, this prediction from a survey of organizations showed that performance is maximized when the firm compromised of a 50-50 split in gender diversity [15]. Diversity, regardless of gender, race, religion, or others, creates more opportunities to collect perspectives and is exercised when a tough decision is being made or when creative solutions are generated. There is a strong business case for diversity, where research has shown that companies with more than 30% of women on their executive team outperform companies with fewer women at the top. The contrast is

as high as 48% between the highest and the lowest percentages of women represented by companies [16].

Despite the extensive amount of research and studies that have been conducted on this topic, the issue still resides within circles of women as a "women’s issue". For example, research was conducted to examine the engineering student’s experience in

STEM. Due to the lower representation of women at the workplace or in engineering majors, “feeling out of place” or “intimidated” is expressed by most female students, and

60% of the male students interviewed appear to be unaware of how gender shapes their own experiences, as well as the experiences of others [17].

How many more years and how many more articles does it take to archive the books on gender inequality and inspire the unconsciousness of organizations to renew this stale culture? A report from the United Nations found that close to 90% of people, both men, and women, display prejudiced sentiments towards women [18]. To achieve the ultimate goal of equality, all must eliminate one’s own biases towards others. All people must work together to create a paradigm shift and remove conscious boundaries for women and girls for the benefit of all.

IV. METHODOLOGY

This section, Methodology, covers the target group and processes used to obtain the information needed for this study. In order to understand the current perceptions of men and women in the transportation industry, and perceptions of the female and male university students with an interest in transportation, a survey was distributed to transportation professionals across the country. For the research undertaken, this study collected a mixture of mostly qualitative data, with some quantitative data.

A. Research Design

Qualitative data is non-numerical in nature, categorizing attributes and properties in groups. It is more exploratory than qualitative data, where reflections and reasoning by the participants is required. Some of the questions asked are quantitative, where degrees of agreement questions are asked. There are also opportunities for participants to express their attitudes and observations at the end of the survey where they are encouraged to share their opinions. Some of the questions are perception questions, to assist in identifying gaps between what is said and what is practiced.

In order to obtain a more realistic feedback from the survey participants and to avoid response bias, the description for the set of surveys only shared with the participants that the survey is for a thesis project in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering Technical Management at Texas

A&M University, and that questions touches on workplace perception, culture, support, and work environment. The survey study asked the participant to take the survey to help provide insight into the Transportation Industry. 24

B. Participants

Since the research is looking to understand the current state of the environment within professional organizations and the attitudes and perception of engineering students, the participants from a selective pool were chosen.

The first group of participants are professionals: working men and women who are currently employed in the transportation industry. To gather information related to the current attitudes and perceptions of men and women in the transportation industry, and their feedback on gender diversity, a survey was distributed with the assistance of transportation industry organizations that have a large number of members, participants and other interested parties. The research team posted on social media and reached out to their professional contacts. Detailed survey responses of 161 participants were gathered for the survey for professionals and 21 survey responses were gathered for the survey for students, totaling 182 responses. Out of the 161 responses from the survey for professionals, 58 responses (36%) identified themselves as male and 102 responses

(63%) identified themselves as female, 1 respondent (1%) preferred not to say. Out of the 21 responses from the survey for students, 10 responses (48%) identified themselves as male, and 11 responses (52%) identified themselves as female. Due to confidentiality, name, location and the organization of the survey participants were not collected.

The demographics of the professionals at levels within their workplace are as follow: 36% of respondents are individual contributor (no direct reports). 32% of respondents are managers. 17% of respondents are directors. 15% of respondents are executives. Their years of experience are as follow: 21% of respondents have 5 or less

years of experience. 36% have more than 5 years and 15 years or less years of experience. 23% have more than 15 years and 25 years of less years of experience. 22% have identified themselves to have more than 25 years of experience.

The demographics of the students are as follow: 29% of respondents are undergraduate students. 38% of respondents are graduate students with equal to less of two years and have not graduated. 19% of respondents are graduate students with more than 2 years of graduate school and have not graduated. 14% of students have received their master’s degree or above and have graduated.

The survey was developed online and distributed via e-mail, news brief, and social media. The e-mail included a link for participants to access either the Survey for

Professionals, or the Survey for Students. The widest distribution of survey was shared with WTS International in the January 2021 News Brief (40,000 subscribers), Mass

Transit (13,600 daily eNewsletter subscribers) [19], shared on LinkedIn as posts by the

Eno Center of Transportation, and various social groups. Various transportation engineering professors and transportation organizations across the US were contacted and were asked to share the survey link with the students. The survey was open for 2.5 weeks. Various contacts were also made directly with transportation leaders on

LinkedIn. Individuals from the author’s professional network were also be contacted to participate in the survey. The survey question does not include a question on the organization of the respondent due to confidentiality. However, a wide audience was reached, and it is likely that respondents from the professional group are from the following: transit system (public and private), consultant, and government.

C. Instruments

The survey was created through Google Forms, a platform for users to create and share surveys for research purposes. This is a familiar site to most people, and the survey layout is user friendly and straightforward to use.

A set of 2 survey questions were created in total. The first survey question goes to the first group: professional working men and women currently employed in the transportation industry. The second set of survey questions goes towards the second group: university students currently pursuing an engineering degree with a transportation program at the undergraduate or graduate level or graduated students who have not entered the workforce. Both set of questions for the professional group and the student group are similar in question framework, the difference being current reality vs perception. The questions are aligned with the objective of the study, and structured to promote honest response rather than a perceived “correct” response.

Survey for Professionals

The following are survey questions for the first group of participants: professional working men and women who are currently employed in the transportation industry. For the reader who is reading this study, please feel free to partake in the survey and later compare your answer with the survey result.

Please complete the following survey and help provide insight into the

Transportation Industry.

- This is a survey for professional working men and women who are currently employed in the transportation industry.

- It is a thesis project in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering Technical Management at Texas A&M University.

- The survey will take less than 10 minutes to complete. Questions touch on workplace perception, culture, support, and work environment. IRB2021-0098,

Approved 01/29/2021

- It is our belief that the data provided, once all the responses are collated, will offer valuable insight into transportation agencies, as well as riders and the public.

The survey is open until Friday, XX XX 2021

Background information:

How many years of experience do you have in the transportation industry?

a. ≤5 years c. >15 to 25 years

b. >5 to 15 years d. Over 25+ years

How would you describe your gender?

a. Male b. Female c. Non-binary d. Prefer not to say

How would you describe your current role?

a. Individual contributor (no direct reports)

b. Manager

c. Director

d. Executive

Perceptions:

1. In your current role, do you feel that men and women are treated equitably

(compensation, job advancement, fairness, etc)?

a. Yes b. Sometimes c. No

2. What position do you believe most women hold within your organization?

a. Yes b. Sometimes c. No

3. Do you feel that women are seen as having the authority to make decisions in

your organization?

a. Yes b. Sometimes c. No

4. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: There is a

dominant masculine culture at my organization.

a. Strong agree c. Neither agree nor disagree e. Strongly Disagrees

b. Agree d. Disagree

5. How would you describe the difficulty to implement the following (in your

organization?)

a. Attract Women to the Organization: Without difficulty, or some

difficulty?

b. Retain Women in the Organization: Without difficulty, or some

difficulty?

c. Advance Women in the Organization: Without difficulty, or some

difficulty?

Organizational support:

6. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: My organization

understands and accommodates a flexible work-life balance.

a. Strong agree c. Neither agree nor disagree e. Strongly Disagrees

b. Agree d. Disagree

7a. Do you think your organization should be doing more to increase gender

diversity, doing less, or is the amount of effort currently being used sufficient?

a. Doing more b. Doing the same c. Doing less

7b. Please elaborate.

8. If your organization offers an optional program that encourages gender equity or

support for women which meets weekly for 1 hour, would you join?

a. Yes b. No

9. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: There are

barriers to women’s professional success at my organization.

a. Strong agree c. Neither agree nor disagree e. Strongly Disagrees

b. Agree d. Disagree

Evaluation and Promotion:

10a. In your organization, do you feel that women have more, fewer, or the same

opportunities to advance professionally as men?

a. More opportunities c. Fewer opportunities

b. Same opportunities

10b. Please provide an example to the previous question.

11. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: Professional

and/or educational credentials significantly help me advance in my organization.

a. Strong agree c. Neither agree nor disagree e. Strongly Disagrees

b. Agree d. Disagree

12a. Do you participate in any social, career-advancing activities (i.e networking)

outside of work which has been helpful in your career progression?

a. Yes b. No

12b. Please elaborate.

13a. Do you believe that men and women could do more to advocate for the

advancement of and equity for women in your organization?

13b. Please elaborate.

Hypothesis Questions on Representation of Women at the Workplace:

14a. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: If your

organization increases the percentage of women at work and creates a

workplace culture that supports both men and women equitably, both

employees and the organization will benefit.

a. Strong agree c. Neither agree nor disagree e. Strongly Disagrees

b. Agree d. Disagree

14b. Please elaborate.

15a. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: There are

concerns with my work requirements and/or work environment that makes it

less suitable for women.

a. Strong agree c. Neither agree nor disagree e. Strongly Disagrees

b. Agree d. Disagree

15b. Please elaborate.

16a. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: If a greater

percentage of women were in transportation careers, women’s needs and travel

patterns would be better represented in how transportation systems are

designed, creating a more inclusive and passenger-friendly transportation

system.

a. Strong agree c. Neither agree nor disagree e. Strongly Disagrees

b. Agree d. Disagree

16b. Please elaborate.

17a. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: A component of

the organization's success is the organization profile (demographics) as a

representation of the customer profile (demographics).

a. Strong agree c. Neither agree nor disagree e. Strongly Disagrees

b. Agree d. Disagree

17b. Please elaborate.

Open-ended Questions:

18. Open-ended question: Have you witnessed any intentional or unintentional

biases towards women in your organization?

19. Open-ended question: What would most effectively encourage gender equity in

your organization?

20. Open-ended question: How are the motivating factors for success the same or

different for men versus women pursuing transportation careers?

21. Why are you interested in taking this survey? (Optional)

Survey for students

The following questions were presented in a survey for the second group of participants: university female and male students who are currently pursuing an engineering degree with an interest in transportation at the undergraduate or graduate level or graduated students who have not entered the workforce.

Please complete the following survey and help provide insight into the

Transportation Industry.

- This is a survey for students who are currently in a transportation program at the undergraduate or graduate level or graduated students who have not entered the workforce. If you have entered the workplace, please take this survey instead:

- Workplace in this survey is generally defined as any public/academic organization or private company/firm in the transportation industry.

- It is a thesis project in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering Technical Management at Texas A&M University.

- The survey will take less than 10 minutes to complete. Questions touch on workplace perception, culture, support, and work environment. IRB2021-0098,

Approved 01/29/2021

- It is our belief that the data provided, once all the responses are collated, will offer valuable insight into transportation agencies, as well as riders and the public.

The survey is open until Friday, XX XX, 2021

Background:

What is the highest level of education you have received?

a. Undergraduate Student

b. Graduate student: ≤2 years, have not graduated

c. Graduate student: 2+ years, have not graduated

d. Master's degree and above, graduated

What is your gender?

e. Male b. Female c. Non-binary d. Prefer not to say

Perceptions:

1. Do you believe that men and women will be treated equitably (compensation, job

advancement, fairness, etc) in your future workplace?

b. Yes b. Sometimes c. No

2. What position do you believe most women hold at your future organization?

a. Individual contributor (no direct reports) b. Manager

c. Director d. Executive

3. Do you feel that women will be seen as having authority to make decisions at

work?

a. Yes b. Sometimes c. No

4. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: I foresee that

there will be a dominant masculine culture in my future workplace.

a. Strong agree c. Neither agree nor disagree e. Strongly Disagrees

b. Agree d. Disagree

5. What percentage of women do you think makes up your future workplace?

a. 0-10%

b. >10-25%

c. >25-50%

d. More than 50%

Workplace Culture and Support

6. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: My future work

environment understands and accommodates a flexible work-life balance.

a. Strong agree c. Neither agree nor disagree e. Strongly Disagrees

b. Agree d. Disagree

7. Do you believe there will be sufficient gender diversity at your workplace?

a. Yes b. No

8. If the workplace offers an optional program that encourages gender equity or

support for women which meets weekly for 1 hour, would you join?

a. Yes b. No

9. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: I foresee barriers

to women’s professional success at my future workplace.

a. Strong agree c. Neither agree nor disagree e. Strongly Disagrees

b. Agree d. Disagree

Evaluation and Promotion:

10a. Do you foresee women having more, fewer, or the same opportunities to

advance professionally as men?

c. More opportunities c. Fewer opportunities

d. Same opportunities

10b. Please elaborate.

11. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: Professional

and/or educational credentials will significantly help me advance in the

workplace.

a. Strong agree c. Neither agree nor disagree e. Strongly Disagrees

b. Agree d. Disagree

12. Have you had any professional internships?

a. Yes b. No

13. Do you believe that men and women could do more to advocate for the

advancement of and equity for women in your organization?

a. Yes b. No

Hypothesis Questions on Representation of Women at the Workplace:

14a. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: If your future

workplace increases the percentage of women at work, and creates a culture

that supports both men and women equitably, both employees and the

organization will benefit.

a. Strong agree c. Neither agree nor disagree e. Strongly Disagrees

b. Agree d. Disagree

14b. Please elaborate.

15a. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: I foresee

concerns with the work requirements and/or environment that makes it less

suitable for women.

a. Strong agree c. Neither agree nor disagree e. Strongly Disagrees

b. Agree d. Disagree

16a. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: If a greater

percentage of women were in transportation careers, women’s needs and travel

patterns would be better represented in how transportation systems are

designed, creating a more inclusive and passenger-friendly transportation

system.

a. Strong agree c. Neither agree nor disagree e. Strongly Disagrees

b. Agree d. Disagree

16b. Please elaborate.

17a. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: A component of

the organization's success is the organization profile (demographics) as a

representation of the customer profile (demographics).

c. Strong agree c. Neither agree nor disagree e. Strongly Disagrees

d. Agree d. Disagree

17b. Please elaborate.

Open-ended Questions:

18. Open-ended question: What do you believe is the origin of your perception of

women working in the transportation industry?

19. Open-ended question: What does gender equity mean to you? Do you consider

the topic to be important for the future of your organization’s success?

20. Open-ended question: How are the motivating factors for success the same or

different for men versus women pursuing transportation careers?

21. Your Major (Optional)

22. Why are you interested in taking this survey? (Optional)

D. Procedure

Both survey sets consist of less than 22 multiple-choice and open ended questions. Only completed surveys were part of the analysis. Since this survey will cast a large participation group, confidence and concise in the survey question’s clarity and purpose is essential, and both sets of survey questions will be reviewed by a beta group before the survey questions are shared with the public. The author shared the intent of the study and survey with the beta group and provided objectives that the survey questions are targeted to meet. The purpose of beta testing is to ensure that the survey method is efficient, where participants understand the requirements of the survey, the survey questions, and the purpose of the survey.

E. Data Analysis Plan

The data analysis addresses the research paper’s hypothesis and aims through descriptive analysis and inferential analysis [20]. Patterns were made through summarizing individual variables in a descriptive analysis. With inferential analysis, relationships are compared between multiple variables to summarize results and draw

conclusions. The first analysis breaks down each of the answer choices in percentages, so understand the participant’s impression on the various topics. The second analysis compares the answers chosen between the two groups, working professionals and engineering students. Through testing realities versus perceptions of work culture, underlying barriers can be identified.

F. Risk

Risk management is an essential component of any project. Risks can occur from any process during the idea/proposal phase to the project conclusion phase during follow up. Typically, in a project, the two most significant risks are schedule and cost. Since cost is not a significant element in this research project, the risk impact is insignificant.

The schedule impact is the most significant risk. Unforeseeable schedule delays to collecting the survey or unexpected survey results may impact the project's success.

There are other risks such as participants misread the information or interpret the data incorrectly. The risks is mitigated by careful choosing the wording of the questions so that they do not lead the participant and asking only questions that are directly pertinent to the goals of the research and are measurable.

V. ANALYSIS

The survey included questions on the following topics: ● Men women equitably ● Representation of women ● Perception of women having authority ● Perception of a masculine culture ● Perception to increase women in the organization ● Current workplace culture ● Current workplace gender diversity program ● Participant’s interest to join a gender diversity program ● Barriers to success ● Advancement opportunity ● The need for professional certification for advancement ● Career advancing activities ● Men’s role in advancing women ● Attitude on organization diversity ● Barriers to the work environment ● Relationship between current transit design and representation of women ● Relationship between demographics and company success ● Biases at the organization ● Ideas for gender equity ● Motivations for success based on gender This section presents the analysis from the survey conducted. The following groups were studied and compared: Group 1: professionals (male and female) vs students (male and female) Group 2: male professionals vs female professionals Group 3: male students vs female students Group 4: professionals (male and female, 25+ years of experience) vs professionals (male and female, ≤5 years)

Group 5: students with internship experience, and with no internship experience. From this study, common elements emerged within the study’s research aim that are broken up into the follow topics: gender equity, workplace barrier, origin of gender inequity, organization support, social improvements, and future growth.

A. How Close Are We to Gender Equity?

“Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world” [21]. Achieving gender equality and empower all women and girls is one of the United Nation’s 17 goals for sustainable development. One target is to end discrimination against women and to ensure full participation in leadership and decision-making.

This study asked 161 professionals two questions on gender equity at the workplace. Interestingly, the results showed that more men felt that gender equity is achieved in their workplace when Group 2 analysis was conducted. In question 1(table

1), 44.8% of the male respondents thought men and women are treated equitably, while

36.3% of women feel the same way. In question 10 (table 2), when both professionals men and women were asked if opportunities are the same or different for advancement for men versus women, three-quarters of all male respondents (72.4%) felt that opportunities are the same. In contrast, a little over half of the female respondents

(56.9%) answered that opportunities are the same for males and females.

TABLE 1. QUESTION 1 RESPONSES BETWEEN FEMALE AND MALE PROFESSIONALS [Question 1] In your current role, do you feel that men and women are treated equitably (compensation, job advancement, fairness, etc)?

Group 2 Female (professionals) Male (professionals) Yes 36.3% 44.8% Sometimes 38.4% 37.9% No 25.5% 17.3%

TABLE 2. QUESTION 10 RESPONSES BETWEEN FEMALE AND MALE PROFESSIONALS. [Question 10] In your organization, do you feel that women have more, fewer, or the same opportunities to advance professionally as men? Group 2 Female (professionals) Male (professionals) Women have more 2.9% 6.9% opportunities than men Women and men have the 56.9% 72.4% same opportunities Women have fewer 40.2% 20.7% opportunities than men

B. Barriers at the workplace

The professional respondents were asked if there are any physical barriers or work environments that make it less suitable for women. Both parties within Group 2 responded similarly to question 15, where the total sum of the “agree” and “disagree” answers are the same for men versus women. It appears that most men and women (over

50% for both groups) feel that there are no concerns with work requirements or work environments that make it less suitable for women. In comparison, roughly 27% of respondents feel concerns about the work requirements or environment that make it less suitable for women. 42

Barriers at the workplace could include many tangible and intangible things, such as work-life balance, equal pay, culture, fear of failure, and others. Overall, almost 8 times as many females (13.7%) as males (1.7%) strongly agreed to barriers for women to advance.

TABLE 3. QUESTION 9 RESPONSES BETWEEN FEMALE AND MALE PROFESSIONALS. [Question 9] How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: There are barriers to women’s professional success at my organization. Group 2 Female (professionals) Male (professionals) Strongly Agree 13.7% 1.7% Agree 32.4% 29.3% Neutral 24.5% 34.5% Disagree 23.5% 20.7% Strongly Disagree 5.9% 13.8%

TABLE 4. QUESTION 15 RESPONSES BETWEEN FEMALE AND MALE PROFESSIONALS. [Question 15] How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: There are concerns with my work requirements and/or work environment that makes it less suitable for women. Group 2 Female (professionals) Male (professionals) Strongly Agree 8.8% 5.2% Agree 19.6% 22.4% Neutral 13.7% 12.1% Disagree 37.3% 29.3% Strongly Disagree 20.6% 31.0%

C. But wait, students had expectations of gender inequality?

The study results indicated a similar result for gender equality perception from the students before they even entered the workplace, as with professionals. The results of Group 1 comparison between professionals and students are shown in Table 5-7 below.

TABLE 5. QUESTION 1 RESPONSES BETWEEN PROFESSIONALS AND STUDENTS. [Question 1] In your current role, do you feel that men and women are treated equitably (compensation, job advancement, fairness, etc)? Group 1 Professionals Students Yes 39.8% 42.9% Sometimes 37.9% 42.9% No 22.4% 14.3%

TABLE 6. QUESTION 9 RESPONSES BETWEEN PROFESSIONALS AND STUDENTS. [Question 9] How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: There are barriers to women’s professional success at my organization. Group 1 Professionals Students Strongly Agree 9.3% 9.5% Agree 31.1% 47.9% Neutral 28.0% 28.6% Disagree 22.4% 9.4% Strongly Disagree 9.3% 4.8%

TABLE 7. QUESTION 10 RESPONSES BETWEEN STUDENTS WITH INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE, AND WITH NO INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE. [Question 10] Do you foresee women having more, fewer, or the same opportunities to advance professionally as men?

Group 5 No (No internship Yes (I have internship experience) experience) Women have more 0% 9.5% opportunities than men Women and men have the 10% 23.8% same opportunities Women have fewer 28.6% 19% opportunities than men

D. Are we doing enough? (How Effective Are Organizations in Achieving Diversity?)

When the participants were asked if their organization is doing enough to increase gender diversity, the statistics answered by the female and male participants were almost flipped. The percentage of female professionals who answered that their organization should be doing more to achieve diversity is almost the same as the percentage of male participants who answered that their organization should continue its current progress (see Table 8).

TABLE 8. QUESTION 7A RESPONSES BETWEEN FEMALE AND MALE PROFESSIONALS. [Question 7a] Do you think your organization should be doing more to increase gender diversity, doing less, or is the amount of effort currently being used sufficient? Group 2 Female Professionals Male Professionals Doing more 59.8% 39.7% Doing the same 40.2% 58.6% Doing less 0% 1.7%

TABLE 9. QUESTION 8 EXAMINES PROFESSIONALS WHO WANTS TO SEE MORE GENDER EQUITY PROGRAMS AND ARE WILLING TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAM. [Question 8] If your organization offers an optional program that encourages gender equity or support for women which meets weekly for 1 hour, would you join? Doing more Doing the same Doing less Yes 81% 48% 0% No 19% 52% 100% While the vast majority (81%) of all respondents who believe that their organization should be doing more indicated that they would join, half of the participants who answered doing the same would join, and the other half would not join (Table 9). experience and the newbies who are brand-new to the work culture (≤5 years).

E. Can we see a positive trend in gender equity?

What is the difference of opinion when Group 4 is examined? Is there a difference between the professionals with 25+ years of experience and the newbies who are brand-new to the work culture (≤5 years). Interestingly, the numbers are very similar between professionals with many years of experience and those who just entered the workforce.

TABLE 10. QUESTION 1 RESPONSES BETWEEN PROFESSIONALS WITH MORE THAN 25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, AND PROFESSIONALS WITH 5 YEARS OR LESS OF EXPERIENCE. [Question 1] In your current role, do you feel that men and women are treated equitably (compensation, job advancement, fairness, etc.)? Group 4 Professionals (≤5 years) Professionals 25+ years

Yes 20.6% 21.4% Sometimes 29.4% 37.1% No 50.0% 41.4%

Question 1 is combined with question 19. Question 19 asks, “What would most effectively encourage gender equity in your organization?” Over 100 (62%) men and woman participants answered the optional question on how gender equity can be done in their organization.

Here are some of the feedback: ● “Many times, women are part of the team, sometimes the leader sometimes not, but generally the leader is the recognized person, so I think a more team recognition would be appreciated and would show the true value of women contributing regularly” (Female, ≤5 years of experience) (Answered: “Yes” to question 1) ● “Increase tuition reimbursement amount for employees to obtain more advanced degrees based on needs of organization” (Male, ≤5 years of experience) (Answered: “Yes” to question 1) ● “Offer 30 hour/week full-time positions to parents. That way fathers can have a larger part in taking care of their children and mothers in the fields have more time with their families. That may make it less likely for women to leave the field in order to raise their families.” (Female, ≤5 years of experience) (Answered: “Sometimes” to question 1) ● “Continue finding leadership opportunities for women” (Male, 25+ years of experience) (Answered: “Sometimes” to question 1) ● “Honest dialogue.” (Female, over 25+ years of experience) (Answered: “Sometimes” to question 1) ● “A cultural shift in our society away from male dominated ways of doing things.” (Female, ≤5 years of experience) (Answered: “No” to question 1) 47

“I think we need to care about gender equity, including persons who do not identify with the traditional male/female gender, as much as we care about racial equity. I also believe it's important to care about equity issues in relation to age and disability, which are often not discussed in equity training or equity initiatives.” (Answered: “No” to question 1) Common trends in the selected answers above and all responses brought up ideas such as increasing work-life balance flexibility, pay gap statistics, promotion and selection of women in executive-level positions and placing more women in management roles.

F. How will an improvement of gender equity change our organization or the world in

which we live?

Many participants understand that gender equity is based on specific actions and statistics, but the entire goal is dedicated to gender parity. Most females and males agree that an increase of women in the workplace makes business sense because of its investment return. The participants' data show that not everyone believes that this culture of inclusivity is smart for the business. More female participants believe that a higher percentage of women should be included than male participants (Table 11)

TABLE 11. QUESTION 14A RESPONSES BETWEEN PROFESSIONALS BY GENDER. [Question 14a] How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: If your organization increases the percentage of women at work and creates a workplace culture that supports both men and women equitably, both employees and the organization will benefit. Group 2 Female Professionals Male Professionals

Strongly Agree 64.7% 48.3% Agree 22.5% 27.6% Neutral 10.8% 19% Disagree 2% 1.7% Strongly Disagree 0% 3.4% In contrast, the student group all agreed that the return of investment is related to company diversity, and more male students strongly agreed than female students.

TABLE 12. QUESTION 9 RESPONSES BETWEEN FEMALE AND MALE STUDENTS. [Question 14a] How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: If your organization increases the percentage of women at work and creates a workplace culture that supports both men and women equitably, both employees and the organization will benefit. Group 3 Female Students Male Students Strongly Agree 72.7% 90.0% Agree 27.3% 10.0% Neutral 0% 0% Disagree 0% 0% Strongly Disagree 0% 0%

Here are some of the comments by students: ● “Toxic masculinity hurts men too. By not supporting women in industry, you lose half the talent that could be making advancements. Gender representation also leads to variety in ideas” (Female, graduate student ≤2 years) ● “Good ideas are a byproduct of collaboration between individuals with different backgrounds.” (Male, undergraduate student) ● “Increasing diversity in a workplace, especially one that is involved in providing transportation services, will always be a benefit because it 49

brings in more diverse viewpoints and understanding of how people travel and what barriers they face” (Female, graduate student 2+ years) There have been many studies on how women and men travel, these studies include identifying travel patterns, and the associated impacts [22]. Of the female professionals, most agreed that a more inclusive passenger-friendly system will be created if women's representation increases and most men fall in the range of disagreeing to strongly agree.

Conversely, most of both female and male students see a relationship between an inclusive transportation system and women's representation. However, a much higher percentage of male students who felt neutral vs a female student (Table 13).

TABLE 13. QUESTION 14A AND 16A RESPONSE BETWEEN FEMALE AND MALE PROFESSIONALS. [Question 16a] How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: If a greater percentage of women were in transportation careers, women’s needs and travel patterns would be better represented in how transportation systems are designed, creating a more inclusive and passenger-friendly transportation system. Group 2 Female Professionals Male Professionals Strongly Agree 43.1% 24.1% Agree 31.4% 36.2% Neutral 20.6% 20.7% Disagree 3.9% 13.8% Strongly Disagree 1% 5.2% [Question 16a] – Same question as question for professionals above Group 3 Female Students Male Students Strongly Agree 63.6% 30.0% Agree 36.4% 40.0%

Neutral 0% 30.0% Disagree 0% 0% Strongly Disagree 0% 0%

Here are some of the comments by students: ● “It is not just more women, but a diversity of women using the modes of transportation. i.e. if you don't ride a bus, you may not have the awareness that lighting, shelter, safety and comfort are necessary for women and mothers.” (Female, >15 to 25 years) (Answered “Agree” to Question 16a) ● “It is not rational to think that transportation systems represent any particular gender. The irrationality of this makes me think of describing a "woman travel pattern" as possibly: 1) by color code (pink as an example); 2) travel venues to kid care (not all women have children); 3) slower lanes (if women tend to be more cautious drivers); and 4) direct access to beauty-related shopping and shoe stores.” (Female, ≤5 years) (Answered “Neutral” to Question 16a) ● “We don't sit around designing new transportation systems. We implement projects based upon specs from customers. A track circuit doesn't care if a train is full of men, women, or puppies - it just checks to see if a train is present and sends the information along.” (Male, >5 to 15 years) (Answered “Strongly Disagree” to Question 16a) ● “Same answer as 14b... things that are known in the literature, for example that women tend to take more “chained” trips, more trips during the workday, etc while public transit systems are generally designed to operate best during commute times” (Female, graduate student 2+ years) (Answered “Strongly Agree” to Question 16a) The difference in perception of males and females is significant to the conclusion. If males believe that the environment is equitable and the majority of the 51

leadership are males there will be less motivation to do more or change, thus the status quo remains.

VI. RETURN ON INVESTMENT

As the benefits to having more women are high for both the organization and the customers and the cost to recruit and retain female employees is comparatively low, the return on investment is particularly interesting.

Indeed, numerous studies shows that a homogenous workforce limits the potential of the collective capabilities of the group. Diversity breeds success. A 2015

McKinsey report estimated that closing the gender labor gap could add as much as $28 trillion, or 26%, to the annual global GDP by 2025. This is based on a “full-potential” scenario where women participate in the economy identically to men [23]. A 2019

Bloomberg article shows that diversity boosts the share price of listed companies.

Annual returns for businesses with higher percentage of women were higher than firms that are the least diverse [24], and an NRP study shows that gender diversity in the very top ranks of companies leads to a better chance that the company will outperform the industry [25]. Additionally, a PWC study shows that female directors are performing better at reaching corporate goals beyond financial goals such as increasing diversity and inclusion, lowering employee attrition and lowering environmental impacts [26].

Furthermore, a study from Morgan Stanley has identified five factors that can potentially explain why gender diversity leads to outperformance: higher employee satisfaction, more innovation, appealing to a broader customer base, lower reputational risk and better recruiting [27]. Women leaders have different traits than male leaders. Those traits amongst women CEOs include risk-taking, resilience, agility, and managing teamwork among their employees [28].

While it is hard to find data showing that hiring and including women have negatively affected the company culture and performance, and most studies point to a clear positive return on investment, some companies and leaders do too little to attract, recruit and retain women.

VII. RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

The cost to attract, recruit and retain more women is minimal. The return of investment to the business entity and the value that it will bring to the employees and its customers is highly beneficial. Proven by the statistics and the real-life experiences of the survey participants, the disparity between the experiences of women and men based on gender is evident. In a world of self-driving cars, artificial intelligence, and smart devices, unequal treatment or perception based on gender is still prevalent and ubiquitous.

Although from the survey responses there are no concerns with work requirements or the work environment that makes it less suitable for women, both the professionals and the student participants feel that there are barriers to women’s professional success. The study confirmed that organizations should be doing more to increase gender diversity. Furthermore, most participants feel that both employees and the organization will benefit, and a more inclusive and passenger-friendly transportation system will result from an increased percentage of women as well as being in positions of greater influence in the transportation industry workforce.

It is recommended that companies will start from the top level executives to lead a focused effort on a robust recruitment strategy, conduct more organization lead discussions regarding and greater awareness of gender biases and the advantages of an inclusive work environment, and promote and embraces a culture of equality in every sense and at all levels of the enterprise. As many survey participants have pointed out, flexible work options that allows employees to work from home, and additional options

for taking time off (paid of unpaid). Organizations should evaluate and standardize pay and examine recruiting strategies from the inside out. A focused effort to recruit, develop, retain, and advance women strategy or plan should be developed and executed at the top company level.

While cultural change, has taken place even to the point of the introduction of state laws, to advance equitable gender representation, women are still extremely underrepresented in many industries holding leadership positions. Imagine a world where the decision-makers around the room are equally represented and one type of voice is not drowned out by the other. In the transportation industry where the women’s representation is low, an increase of input and work from women will impact communities. Positive change will lead to progress toward greater community equity. In the end, this paper is about women, but it is not exclusively for women. This is not only a men’s issue as much as it is a women’s issue, but a human right issue that impacts both women and men. Gender diversity is the inclusion of all genders, and not one gender being dominate over another. Inclusion can broaden perspectives to drive better decision-making.

Fueled by the energy and the intellect of many like-minded women and men dedicated to creating greater equity, the best way to predict the future is to create it today. May this decade be the emergence of a major confluence: the overwhelming power of a sustainable collective future of our society over the individual.

REFERENCES

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APPENDIX A

SURVEY FOR PROFESSIONALS

Background information: How many years of experience do you have in the transportation industry?

Over 25+ ≤5 years years 21% 22%

>15 to 25 >5 to 15 years years 23% 34%

How would you describe your gender?

Prefer Not to Say 1% Male 36%

Female 63%

How would you describe your current role?

Executive 15% Individual Director Contribut 17% or 36%

Manager 32%

Perceptions: 1. In your current role, do you feel that men and women are treated equitably (compensation, job advancement, fairness, etc)?

No 22% Yes 40%

Sometimes 38%

2. What position do you believe most women hold within your organization?

Director Executive 8% 4%

Individual Manager Contributor 34% 54%

3. Do you feel that women are seen as having the authority to make decisions in your organization?

No 5%

Sometimes 28%

Yes 67%

4. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: There is a dominant masculine culture at my organization.

Strongly disagree Strongly agree 9% 19%

Disagree 20%

Neutral Agree 14% 38%

5. How would you describe the difficulty to implement the following (in your organization?)

Some difficulty Without difficulty

80 81 79 82 68

Attract Women to the Retain Women in the Advance Women in the Organization Organization Organization

Organizational support: 6. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: My organization understands and accommodates a flexible work-life balance.

Strongly disagree 3%

Disagree Strongly 17% agree 17%

Neutral 17%

Agree 46%

7a. Do you think your organization should be doing more to increase gender diversity, doing less, or is the amount of effort currently being used sufficient?

Doing Less 1%

Doing the Same 47% Doing More 52%

7b. Please elaborate. 8. If your organization offers an optional program that encourages gender equity or support for women which meets weekly for 1 hour, would you join?

No 35%

Yes 65%

9. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: There are barriers to women’s professional success at my organization.

Strongly Strongly disagree agree 9% 9%

Disagree 23% Agree 31%

Neutral 28%

Evaluation and Promotion: 10a. In your organization, do you feel that women have more, fewer, or the same opportunities to advance professionally as men?

Women have more opportunities than men Women have 5% fewer opportunities than men 33% Women and men have the same opportunities 62%

10b. Please provide an example to the previous question. 11. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: Professional and/or educational credentials significantly help me advance in my organization.

Strongly disagree 2% Disagree 9%

Strongly agree Neutral 29% 21%

Agree 39%

12a. Do you participate in any social, career-advancing activities (i.e networking) outside of work which has been helpful in your career progression?

No 25%

Yes 75%

12b. Please elaborate. 13a. Do you believe that men and women could do more to advocate for the advancement of and equity for women in your organization?

No 18%

Yes 82%

13b. Please elaborate. Hypothesis Questions on Representation of Women at the Workplace:

14a. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: If your organization increases the percentage of women at work, and creates a workplace culture that supports both men and women equitably, both employees and the organization will benefit.

Disagree Strongly disagree 2% 2%

Neutral 14%

Strongly agree Agree 58% 24%

14b. Please elaborate. 15a. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: There are concerns with my work requirements and/or work environment that makes it less suitable for women.

Strongly agree 7%

Strongly disagree Agree 25% 21%

Neutral Disagree 13% 34%

15b. Please elaborate. 16a. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: If a greater percentage of women were in transportation careers, women’s needs and travel patterns would be better represented in how transportation systems are designed, creating a more inclusive and passenger-friendly transportation system.

Disagree Strongly 7% disagree 3%

Strongly agree Neutral 36% 21%

Agree 33%

16b. Please elaborate. 17a. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: A component of the organization's success is the organization profile (demographics) as a representation of the customer profile (demographics).

Strongly disagree 1% Disagree 8%

Neutral 18% Strongly agree 34%

Agree 39%

17b. Please elaborate. Open-ended Questions: 22. Open-ended question: Have you witnessed any intentional or unintentional

biases towards women in your organization?

23. Open-ended question: What would most effectively encourage gender equity in

your organization?

24. Open-ended question: How are the motivating factors for success the same or

different for men versus women pursuing transportation careers?

25. Why are you interested in taking this survey? (Optional)

APPENDIX B

WRITE-IN COMMENTS FROM THE SURVEY FOR PROFESSIONALS

7a. Do you think your organization should be doing more to increase gender diversity, doing less, or is the amount of effort currently being used sufficient? 7b. Please elaborate. Doing “We are exactly 50/50.” Less:

Doing “We have a woman CEO and half the managing directors are women. But the our work tends to be family unfriendly - with travel often required. This same: makes women considering starting families to have second thoughts about their long-term prospects at the firm.” “I believe we are balanced with an appropriate mix of genders in current positions and hire new employees without discrimination in any way.” “I think we do a pretty good job now. More would be nice, of course, but not a huge problem” “We have strong gender campaign”

“The percentage of women with professional civil engineering licenses is minimal compared to men. My company has reaches to the few who are qualified for the positions.”

“I’m a male. I see a lot of women in high ranking positions. I don’t see all of their struggles.”

“I believe we have many initiatives to have a diverse group, however the change is more of a generational change with a lot of older thoughts retiring or leaving. The problem of gender diversity will likely change with time.”

“My company encourages women to apply and excel through mentorship programs.” Doing “I think my organization has some amazing policies related to flexible work More: schedules and career advancement for women. However the paid leave options are very minimal and there is no paid family leave, which makes it hard to retain women in the company.” “I believe it's no a simple answer, to increase gender diversity should come from many angles (i.e. schooling, recruiting, internal work opportunities and issues that are useful to retaining women)” “I would like to see more gender diversity in management.”

“All other female engineers in my workplace work outside of roadway and I don't get a chance to interact with them. I am the only woman in my department that is not a student” “I would like to see more women in director positions” “Many women in entry level and routine work. Currently no women engineers or women operation managers.” “My firm has made many intentional investments into recruiting and promoting women over a few years and has seen results. The only major issue I have in terms of gender diversity issues is the poor new parent leave. It is better than a lot of other places in this industry, but it still is not good. However I believe this is not solely a women's issue and negatively affects everyone.” “Transportation is a male-dominated industry. Women in my part of my organization are generally well-respected. It is worth noting, however, that women are in the minority in both individual contributor and management roles and an extreme minority in what would be considered the executive level (2 of 14 positions).” “Many staff start as Bus Drivers and move up. The time commitments of Drivers makes it difficult to get women - specifically with children - into the job.” “Our organization has stated that we need to do more to increase diversity” “We have areas that are very well represented by women, for example our executive team is 50% women, and 60% of Transportation dept heads are women. In our technical areas however, we have a lot of work to do.” “They have been reaching out to different universities and high schools to recruit them to get into STEM, and eventually have a career in Engineering.” “While my company has been more successful in recent years attracting female candidates, promotion within the organization to executive roles has been less successful.” “The industry is highly technical and we should be doing more to attract women with technical backgrounds.” “Publicize, prioritize, and maintain goals for greater diversity at executive levels” “Women lack positions of authority in my department, including women with extensive experience prior to coming to work here myself included. I do not see a path forward into a more significant role in my organization.” “Release statistics on what roles men and women hold across the agency.” “Our agency is full of older white males but seeing more diversity coming through in parts of the agency that are less engineering focused. We need more mentoring and more managers trained to support the growth of their teams professionally.”

“A workplace has to follow through with their commitment to increase diversity and inclusion with measurable goals. If the commitment ends or falls short of the goal without transparency it suggests it is not important and or is a low priority.” “While there is recognition that there could be more females in the department, there doesn't seem to be an urgency to addressing the situation.” “We've done work to increase internal promotions, women's mentoring program, and other staff retention. I think the need is within a masculine culture in understanding the discomfort women may feel and not recognizing them for their merits in all situations.” “There is just now an attempt to put more women and minorities in meaningful positions.” “At the very least we should be more cognizant of gender bias in hiring.” “Helping women move up by coaching, mentoring, or training them on higher job opportunities rather than general "leadership" classes. Attracting women to the transportation field, by speaking at colleges, targeting women in the job ads, and making it appeal to women by having a work life balance (offering day care reimbursement, or allowing people to work from home or select schedules that work best for them, providing good maternity benefits, nursing rooms, exercise classes or gym discounts, encouraging people to take breaks to go to the gym, encouraging people not to skip lunch etc.) “There are no real intentional efforts to increase gender diversity currently.” “I feel that my organization use women as work horses to do a multitude of things that are not expected of a man. They get the work done and are not recognized for the efforts it take to get it done, nor the complexity that is encountered.” “All managers and above are men.” “My organization is a woman owned small business but all of the Division and Department Managers are men. While we have female leadership at the top we need to be more diverse with our promotions into the managerial level.” “Inclusion is discussed but rare to never is gender the specific topic.” “Women seem to be marginalized and not recognized for their contributions, value, experience, and knowledge. There is usually male overriding of decisions, adopting ideas and work as their own ideas and taking credit. Lack of recognition, promotion, equal pay, bonuses, and advancement. I have been to attract women to the organization because they want to work with me specifically.” “Biggest issue is with promotion & growing women. Seeing slots made for men in the executive office as they move out of one high paid position due to running into trouble or burnout”

10a. In your organization, do you feel that women have more, fewer, or the same opportunities to advance professionally as men? 10b. Please elaborate. Women “The Exec team is all women. The second tier is all men. The custodial have more staff is all men with one woman.” opportunities than men “I can think of several instances where a woman is chosen because she is a woman and the organization values women in leadership roles for optics.” Women and “I am included on emails proposing conference submittals, men have certifications and licensures are common” the same opportunities “Everyone can apply whether there is bias after the that is difficult to tell.” “My team is equally led by men and women. Older male leaders on my team equally recognized the talents of emerging male and female leaders and promoted all of them.” “Same opportunities but working in a department with only males my not be desirable.” “Promoting Drivers into Dispatch and Expediters roles” “Women have similar opportunities, but the existing structure/workforce makeup is predominantly men - only equal opportunities cannot catch up to have much impact on the upper level diversity.” “It depends on the division leadership. Some areas of the organization are more intentional and proactive with professional development. Others are not.” “Women promoted to leadership roles, shareholders at firm Our senior executive team has more women than men (5 of 7 executive VPs are women).” “Our municipality has alot of women in executive and leadership roles, and a strong focus on gender equity. Biggest challenges are recruiting women into technical roles.” “The opportunity for advancement is open to all genders equally, but the manner in which promotions are decided upon is not equal (see my previous response about the promotion exam).” “The women's perception of opportunities holds them back more than anything.” “The opportunity is there. The competition by shear numbers is what causes the reduced opportunity for women.” “Several executive officers are women.” 76

“I believe that men and women have equal opportunities for advancement, but I believe that family dynamics are different, and women have more demands on their time outside of work that can be a barrier to career progression (shifts being a good example).” “Upper management is strongly represented by women, by middle and executive is not. “ “In my organization opportunities are very much dependent on who your supervisor is and where you are within the organization.” “In the government sector, there are equal opportunities for both women and men to apply for the same position.” “I think men and women have equal opportunity to apply and be interviewed for a position. I am not sure if the opportunity to advance is equal or not. It seems that women may miss opportunities if they are not "in" with the right people in the organization. It may be more difficult to get a seat at the table, but women who are confident and assertive seem to advance more quickly.” “Advancement opportunities is poor for both.” “It depends on the division leadership. Some areas of the organization are more intentional and proactive with professional development. Others are not.” “Over 50% of our leadership positions are held by women.” “Many women are in executive and management positions if they apply for them. I am a woman in an executive position with no opposition to get there.” “We have an equal amount of women in management positions as individual contributors.” “We have promoted women in the last three years from Manager roles to Director roles.” “As long as the performance is the same, then the opportunities are the same. I have seen women advance to senior leadership positions within our firm among strong competition from both men and other women. So, the opportunities are there.” “I think it is more a reflection of social constraints than workplace constraints that women aren’t able to progress further.” “I see more women promoted as they take advantage of advancement opportunity. I see less qualified men attempting to do the same.” “In a competitive field, a woman was selected to be a Manager of an important department. Not unusual.” “Positions are generally open for candidates to apply. Networking is really what it comes down to for filling positions.” “We have a couple of examples of staff starting as an intern and becoming a principal in the firm. The last one to complete this (it takes 10 years min) was a woman.” 77

“Per a previous response, the majority of announcements of promotions to executive/upper level management, have been of women (who generally have replaced white males as they left).” “I think women and men have the same opportunities now, but it is still a work in progress. It will take time to completely shift away from the out-of-date, male-dominant business structure and mentality.” “While there are less women in the workplace in my organization, I feel that opportunities are open equally.” “for the most part, women and men have the same opportunities to advance, but men seem to be given more important roles. As in, we can all take the opportunity but men seem to be more successful in getting ahead.” “Competent people that want to be promoted get promoted. Alot of us men and women are happy as individual contributors, but advancement is available for those that want it.” “Hard work will be promoted whether male or female.” “All senior and executive staff are women. That is not to say the women in my organization have more opportunities, but I think with women at the helm promotional parity is more achievable.” Women “If implicit gender bias is present in an organization it makes it have fewer different for a women to navigate a promotion. In a department where opportunities women represent 7% of the team and men 93% - women have to take a than men different approach and there are more challenges that make counterparts do not experience. “There are many project managers and regional directions who are women, so there's lots of room for advancement. However, when you look at corporate leadership, it's almost entirely male-dominated. “Women are not inline to advancement opportunities. If you are not in line, you are often overlooked. “A new level of management was created in my organization a couple of years ago - four new positions between directors and the executives. Although a number of well-qualified women applied, none were hired for any of those positions.” “Women are rarely placed in positions ripe for rapid advancement, such as project manager.” “Most of the executives are men. Our corporate structure requires approval by a Board that consists primarily of men. I believe this creates challenges with respect to promoting women to executive/leadership roles.” “The only female engineers in our management team also have graduate degrees in business. Yeah there are many men in management positions that don't have dual degrees.”

“I see more men in higher up roles than women, so I feel that women have fewer opportunities.” “More men, and even minority men, are considered first for promotion opportunities. Promoted women typically earn less.” “While there are examples of women in leadership in the large organization, these do not exist in my specific department and I don't see a path for us women. I will likely have to go back to school and switch departments to grow in my career here. I have also seen far too many women leaving both our organization and our department in particular. Most have found the work life balance to be untenable and that there was no path forward for them without leaving.” “Men are consistently promoted after putting forth less work and women must provide significantly more amounts of reasoning to support promotion requests.” “Women are often over looked for saying and doing the same thing that men do. A woman can say or do something and it is sometimes acknowledged and other times, ignored. A man can come right behind the woman and do the same thing and it becomes the best idea ever. Or... a woman is asked her opinion and the director or leader will go to a man in the organization and take his advice even though his experience on the issue is limited.” “All managers and above are men.” “Shareholder/owner selection, promotions, recognizing and awarding contributions to overall strategic goals and performance appropriately and equally (doesn't happen).” “See prior point - women are in executive roles, but more is done for white males in terms of supporting the executive.” “Men promote men is common.” “There is a huge disparity from field position opportunities and headquarter opportunities for women. This has been a male dominated industry for a long time and while acknowledged, efforts across all departments/locations just aren’t equal.” “Work-life balance (lack thereof) in culture of organization presents a barrier.” “Low level movement is fine, but all C-level are men.” “Women are in secretarial roles or in narrowly defined specialty roles. Nowhere to go.” “Our organization's HR department still considers us an "engineering" organization even though less then 1/4 of the agency's jobs are engineering. These professions are dominantly male, our leaders are majority male, our managers are majority male and there are no priorities to recruit women into supervisory and manager positions. Lastly - and most importantly - ever organization I work with lacks a

focus on intersectionality and the huge disparities between white women and women of color, which needs to be a top priority.” “The men dominate certain areas of the company. Even those areas where there is more employment of women, sometimes you still see the "boys club".” “Many positions are engineering based, a field in which women are in the minority. Most women hold administrative positions.” “Top-level management skews male.” “I don't think women are thought of when opportunities for inclusion present themselves (i.e. meeting with a client, starting a new project). Instead women are seen as worker bees or given menial tasks.” “Women hold fewer management positions and hold a smaller percentage of wages. If opportunities were 'equal' we wouldn't see those disparities unless women were categorically less capable or skilled. I don't believe this is the case.” “When the people who are in the pipeline are predominantly men based on the industry, few women are qualified to apply for senior positions.” “The women can ‘t work in rolling stock area.” “Men choose men for professional advancement, unless the organization is trying to meet a quota for women in professional positions.” “The operations department is dominated by men, and they advancements tend to go to men.”

15a. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: There are concerns with my work requirements and/or work environment that makes it less suitable for women. 15b. Please elaborate. Strongly “I do not have a partner, parents or in-laws they can step in for me when agree something comes up for my kids. When I'm able to jump in head first at work, my family suffers. When I feel like I'm doing the right thing for my family, my professional development suffers.” “Almost all men. There is little comfort for 1 woman per 10-20 men.” “Long work hours, and majority male workforce in the field and management.” “My organization does not give good leave or having a baby or caring for family.” “Culture where women are directly disparaged or men's physical traits (tall, overweight) are identified as correlated to desirable traits such as 'handling emergencies well, being 'tough', good negotiator, etc.'” “Working night shift on freeway.”

Agree “My company has an extremely demanding work environment. Women are largely still expected to "do it all", as in share domestic responsibilities, raise kids, etc. I have noticed that more men are able to skirt domestic responsibilities, while women are still pressured outside of work which creates more stress.” “Per earlier comment, schedule makes childcare difficult for Drivers.” “In some cases, I agree. Many jobs are 24/7 and seniority impacts shift selection. A single mother may be dissuaded from joining the organization as a result, for example.” “A lot of women peers I know would not want to work in Construction as it usually involves night work.” “Male dominated culture means some conversation topics and humor can be off-putting and even demeaning to women.” “My concern is the shop environment can be intimidating to women, but on the office side, the environment is very open to any one.” “Travel for staff with young kids is tough. That's for new dads and moms. But more difficult for moms.” “No ability for part-time status.” “I do public involvement which is largely women, but i can be challenging with all the afterhours requirements. Many women are still the primary care givers for their children.” “Compensation across the board is an issue. We're a public agency in one of the highest cost areas in the US.” “I believe the Industry and my company pushes flexibility and equality but the fact of the matter is that women are still the primary caregivers and expected to work as if they don't have children and parent as if they don't work full time.” “No one calls people out on their microaggressions towards women and people of color.” “Obviously parental leave is this country is a disaster and while we offer parental leave for both men and women, it is not sufficient. Also even as a 50/50 company with men and women both well represented, male- dominated norms still persist even if they are not overly oppressive.” “Policies related to flexibility of work hours, telecommuting, leave tend to affect some individuals more than others. Some increased diversity of directors likely would affect the enforcement of these types of policies.” “The emotional strain of being an “only” can make for high levels of stress and in some cases can take away from the joy of the job itself. Women are more likely to have to deal with family needs like children and elderly family member care.” “In my operations role, there are some requirements for inflexible and late shifts that are difficult for caregivers.” “This is particularly true in Operations.” 81

“I am one of the few women in my field, and one of the few female directors in the industry. This leads to constant mansplaining, manterrupting, taking my ideas as their own, discrediting me, ignoring me, etc. Even if I have strong female allies, I need more active male allies that speak out.” “No concern with physical work environment, just the sentiments already expressed; communication is terrible and there is disparate treatment of women.” Neutral “Field level staff may have physical work requirements but not with office workers.” “Men need to be able to get parental leave more often, same as women, to support women’s careers just as much during childbirth.” “In my current role, gender doesn’t matter. previous field roles there would be a disparity between a male dominated direct report structure to a female leader. This was the problem for my replacement and caused the female leader to move to a new position.” “Construction inspection still involves overhearing of obscenities.” “Concerns are more personal in my mind set than with the work requirements or work environment.” “I think the field itself would have me agree with the above statement, but my specific organization does not cause me any concern.” “For my particular job, I don't believe there are concerns with work requirements or work environment that make it less suitable for women. However, in the construction and maintenance portions of the organization, jobs and facilities have been designed around men.” Disagree “I've been in an organization where the men go to lunch at a bar every Friday and didn't invite the women. This was not a conducive environment.” “We are 80 percent office focused. Plenty of flexibility around requirements.” “No issues.” “Plenty of women make do in my workplace, so I am not concerned, but there could be added flexibilities to make the workplace better for women.” “No reason to have less women than men.” “Having the option to work from home periodically (after COVID) would be nice.” “Flexibility is available for all employees.” “A woman could anything by a man can do.” “Current role anyone can do if they have the knowledge and skill. No physical obstacles.” “Women are already filling the roles.” “Work environment is what it is and a person can before the requirements of the job or not.” 82

“The work requirements and environment in my business unit are supportive of women.” “Sometimes the environment can be challenging for women.” “Work requirements and environment tend to create a level playing field. Perception can undermine the suitability of women in environments and requirements.” “The requirements/environment don't see to be less suitable to me on the surface. I think it is more a mindset issue, which may actually be considered environment by some people.” “Women in the past have always successfully held jobs at all level. Strongly “My current position is primarily oriented towards a professional office disagree work environment, with only modest levels of travel being required during a typical (non COVID-19) year.” “I'm in an office environment.” “I'm seen as a strong mentor and supervisor.” “Women are very resilient. They can adapt to any environment.” “Never have seen any such conditions at my organization.” “There are no requirements that women are unable to meet.” “My managers are often women - including my current manager. She is more than capable of performing the duties of the job.” “We have women working at every level in our organization. A female journey mechanic is rare anywhere, but we have one.” “We have researched best practices for women (and family households) in the workplace.” “We do a great job!” “Gender doesn't play a role in professional success.” “I do not agree. I think that a woman is more suitable for the type of work that I do than a man because it deals with a ton of working with others and multi-tasking.” “Women do the same work as men in my organization, whether it’s in the office or in the field doing inspections or data collection.” “Our firm has a great work environment that encourages individual success, which is why this firm is a great place to work.” “Transportation Planning is a great field for women.”

16a. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: If a greater percentage of women were in transportation careers, women’s needs and travel patterns would be better represented in how transportation systems are designed, creating a more inclusive and passenger-friendly transportation system. 16b. Please elaborate. Strongly “Women in general are left out of decisions because they are either not at agree the table or data on them is not considered. We design for men and it harms all of our functions in society.” 83

“When women are part of the planning process for transportation, they make sure women's needs are represented.” “Women travel different than men. Women go more places after work : shopping, pick up the kids, etc. so a transportation system that reaches specific places would benefit women more. Also women can give input to things like pushing a stroller onto the bus/rail, where will you place your grocery bags, is it safe to ride with children, etc.” “Personal experiences lead to knowledge which leads to better decisions.” “Different points of view allows you to see things you wouldn't see by yourself. Confidence to voice these differing views is critical. The best ideas cannot be implemented if nobody hears them.” “Women bring a unique perspective to how transportation systems are design as care givers, head of family, parents and how gender plays a role in security that are mainly unique to women. Men are less likely to be aware of the multiple challenges of female riders as it is common they lead one role.” “Yes. 100%. Representation matters.” “The way women feel safe and evaluate safety is different and having more women in design teams offers important perspectives.” “Women have unique transportation needs, including safety concerns that men do not have, size differences (women tend to be shorter, making it hard to reach handles in buses/trains and affecting how they fit in cars), and different needs/purposes. Men's trips tend to be more commute-based, which is overly represented in transportation planning. Women's trips tend to be shorter/more local and driven by errands/caring responsibilities. These kinds of trips are underrepresented in planning efforts. Also, women are more likely to be transporting children and right now vehicle & infrastructure design does not accommodate that.” “Again women live different lives than men in many ways, especially around trip chaining, household and family care duties. Women have different concerns around personal security as well as concerns about traffic safety that often restrict their choices to use more cost-effective and active modes of transportation.” “Women often travel with children or elderly parents, with strollers or walkers, and their needs are not often represented in transportation decisions.” Self-apparent.” “If women are not represented in the planning, their perspective could be easily missed.” “Who is at the table making decisions always matters.” “If you don't have a voice at the table, your needs aren't going to be heard and addressed. "Research" can only take a white man so far in

understanding the transportation/mobility needs of a working mother of color.” “Absolutely. Systems need to be created with safety top of mind. Women are not always comfortable using public transportation - especially if traveling alone. Additionally, women still tend to do the lion's share of their home operations. Make it more convenient to use public transportation by placing stops and shelters near grocery stores and pharmacies.” “Having women in positions of power in the planning process helps ensure that these concerns will be considered.” “Our agency has a "Women and Girls Council" to address these difference for female riders.” “Obvious.” “Safety is and will remain one of the top reasons that women may shy away from public transportation systems. Any efforts that address these concerns can only be viewed as a positive for all.” “Women and men make different considerations so it is important to include women, people with disabilities, and others who may contribute to the best overall design.” “Honestly, that's a no-brainer...” “I agree whole heartedly!!! Diversity is critical. A woman would know better what it takes to get another woman to work in this industry and having home responsibilities. “I agree, but that may only include the needs of women who use the transportation system to commute to work and could completely leave out the needs of women who are traveling to take the kids to school or handle household related activities. This is true for men too, in today's world more and more men are staying home and taking care of the domestic duties while women work. People who work and commute and design a system that caters to their needs will continue to leave the transportation needs of those who do not commute out of the overall picture. Active Transportation connecting grocery stores, schools, and parks would be a good start to creating a system that meets the needs of everyone - not just professional commuters.” “Women's bathrooms are woefully under supplied in concert halls, movie theaters, bus terminals, restaurants and the like. Bathrooms on buses and trains are rather dismal and poorly maintained most times.” “Diversity of thought and representation matters.” “The advantage of diversity. Also supported by pilot projects I've seen along these lines. Not sure if there's research to document.” Agree “How can we guarantee a system that meets the needs of all users if 50% of the population isn't even at the table?”

“While I agree with the premise, men could be more receptive and perceptive on women's needs and patterns, independent of female hires.” “All transportation systems need to be cognizant of the differing travel needs of all potential users, regardless of age, gender, demographics, or physical abilities. No specific user group, or gender, should have the accommodation of its specific travel needs given a higher priority than those of all other groups.” “Only if the women are listened to and they are empowered to speak truthfully.” “(I work for a transit agency) We also need to start collecting more information about our riders, especially women, so we can better understand their needs. Our needs as woman transportation professionals may be very different from other women who ride our system. So having more women in working as transportation professionals would be great, but we need to be able to capture the needs and provide resources for other women as well.” “It would be best coming from a woman, but a man could also get this knowledge if he asked the right questions.” “Women can also follow the status quo. That is why I agree, but not strongly.” “It is not just more women, but a diversity of women using the modes of transportation. I.e. if you don't ride a bus, you may not have the awareness that lighting, shelter, safety and comfort are necessary for women and mothers.” “I just think women are superior program managers.” “Public transit is really focused on peak period professionals workers.” “Women can raise questions and express opinions relating to women's needs and travel patterns better than men.” “In design of passenger facilities, women are more (generally) cognizant of safety issues that men typically don’t consider.” “There are many considerations generally by male engineering that may not be considered. I.e. nursing room on a train vs just a restroom.” “Women are usually the caregivers in a family - the ones who care for children and for elderly parents, drive the carpools, do the grocery shopping, etc. That role comes with specific needs for transportation options that many men do not share. Women also have other concerns regarding physical safety than men do.” “I think that today's culture promotes inclusivity, but more women would only ensure that is more prevalent.” “I would need to do more research into the correlation of being female or male and how it impacts travel patterns, etc to elaborate fully. At face value, the correlation makes logical sense to me, based on different typical driving behaviors of females versus males.” 86

“Needs of the women commuters are not often discussed or represented at the policy-making level.” “While I think this is possible, I am not sure that the policy related to design and operation are strongly affected by the planners and designers. This strikes me as more of a political function.” Neutral “I don't know what women's needs and travel patterns are that would be different than those of men's. If they're talking about the homemaker's needs and travel patterns, then that would not necessarily be represented by having career women work in Transportation.” “Not sure how that would in my field.” “Possibly, but this statement is biased in how it is presented. You're starting off with the assumption that women are automatically more inclusive and sensitive to passenger needs. Many working women (particularly younger) are not as sensitive to the needs of children or infirmaties than males. The demand for increased bicycle lanes in urban environments is an example. Fine for fit people (I bike regularly),but not so much for elderly, people with small children, the disabled who need to access facilities.” “On a larger scale not sure women's needs and patterns are different than men's and it depends on whether or what type of travel is being discussed.” “"Woman’s" needs is very dependent on if you have a family you shuttle, are close to bus lines, or bike lanes, etc. so not sure if it matters if it is woman or man. So long as there are a variety of options available.” “Most of my state is rural so I am not sure how we would even support more passenger friendly transportation.” “I don't think representation is enough, it also goes back to education (what is taught in engineering programs), standard mythologies for analysis, (everything peak hour focused), etc. Better representation in the field will help, but there are also many other systemic issues to address to truly change.” “I don’t think this will drive system design but could influence telecommuting acceptance to accommodate both men and women and childcare needs for families with parents in transportation.” “I don't know. I just don't know. Show me the data!” “I'm not sure about this. Certainly, it has been under investigated/represented in the past, but there is rising interest. I'm not sure that one needs to work with women to address women’s' issues. This may be generational.” “I think this depends on the specific job and what entity they work at. I know men planners that are more apt to think of women's use of transportation than some women are.” “It seems as though most traffic data I see is pretty unbiased with regards to travel patterns.”

“I do not see the connect between women's needs and travel patterns.” “I don’t like thinking of anything specific to a gender. I think qualified, capable and motivated women are every bit as capable as men but I would like to think that everyone’s needs are equally met.” “I am very in the middle.” “I think that our organization tries to consider the needs of everyone in the community.” Disagree “I do not believe gender ID should influence how transportation is structured.” “Similar answer as I gave in 14b. White women may not be representative of Black and Brown women's experiences and would still overlook other user group's needs when developing the design of an inclusive transportation system. Helping enable more Black and Brown women establish themselves into leadership positions across the transportation industry is more of a priority for me.” “Evan a poorly paid female planner can avoid living in a blighted area.” “Training in impoverished women's needs is such an absolute necessity that high participation percentages + loads of empathy would not really help by comparison.” “I do not think that any gender has preference in transportation systems planning and design.” Strongly “It is not rational to think that transportation systems represent any disagree particular gender. The irrationality of this makes me think of describing a "woman travel pattern" as possibly: 1) by color code (pink as an example); 2) travel venues to kid care (not all women have children); 3) slower lanes (if women tend to be more cautious drivers); and 4) direct access to beauty- related shopping and shoe stores.” “We don't sit around designing new transportation systems. We implement projects based upon specs from customers. A track circuit doesn't care if a train is full of men, women, or puppies - it just checks to see if a train is present, and sends the information along.” “Transportation design and operations are tied to vehicle data, regardless of driver specifics.”

Strongly “If the organization is diverse, then they will be more attuned to what their agree potential customers will need and like.” “Diversity at all levels is a great thing.” 88

“Hard to build trust or understanding without common ground.” “I always say that the makeup of a firm’s workforce should proportionally reflect the demographics in the community in which it is located.” “The majority of the agency’s ridership are women. The majority of riders are also from a low income background. Most agency employees don’t ride the system and are professionals with a higher income level than that of riders. There is a direct disconnect based on personal experiences that can be applied for the benefit of riders.” “Staff reflecting the community it serves helps values to align for best possible outcomes.” “A diverse workforce stimulates an increase in creativity from a variety of backgrounds.” “When a rider can converse in Spanish or Russian with a driver, they feel more comfortable about riding and are more likely to continue to use our services.” “It is about relatability. Our Latinx community responds favorably to radio ads and interviews of our staff on Spanish-speaking stations.” “Representation matters.” “Planners who don't have cultural insight into the communities they are planning for are doomed to recreate systems that destroy the communities themselves.” “A public agency workforce should reflect the community it serves but should also address imbalances in private employers.” “Hard to pretend to know the customer's needs if you have nothing in common.” Agree “How can you serve people if you don't know for sure what they need?” “The organization must strive to represent the community it serves.” “More women are holding agency CEO positions, whereas the main large firms in the private sector are still catching up. Diversity in consulting teams is often facilitated through small business enterprise (SBE), Disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE), and/or disabled veteran business enterprise (DVBE) contract requirements, directed by the public agencies.” “Transportation is a service industry. It is hard to provide the best service if you do not fully understand and relate to the needs of all segments of your customers.” “I tend to agree, but it should be noted that the customers we serve (as consultants) are also generally managed/operated by men.” “Some clients specifically look for team diversity.” “You have to be able to relate to your customers, and a balanced management helps you relate to a balanced customer base.” “An organization should reflect those that they serve.” “If you see that more people like you are in an organization you are more likely to join it.” 89

“A transportation system designed by rich white men isn't necessarily going to serve the entire population equitably.” “To understand the potential needs of the customers of a transportation system, those potential users must be involved in the entire project delivery process, from conceptual planning through facility design, construction, and continuing operations and maintenance. All those who benefit from improvements to the system should be expected to contribute some amount of funding for the system.” “Certain government professions could only be brought to a percentage of graduates with qualifying college degrees without stealing from the private sector at too great a cost and ruining the private sector's percentages. “ “I have seen examples where a customer (typically a public agency) has more women working there and we try to mirror that with our proposed project team and have had success with that approach.” “Your customer should see themselves in the organization.” “People know what their customers need if they share the same profile.” “If your transit/railroad system carries a million riders per weekday, how can you match customer profile to employee profile?” “Where a person is from and what they believe, impacts decisions.” “Broader representation of demographics helps to ensures all customer profiles are considered.” “I agree to some degree, but I worry this is too superficial. Due to centuries of institutional racism, we still see BIPOC people in lower paying roles because they don't have advanced degrees. And in a hierarchical organization, they may not have the decision-making power.” “I work with a lot of college-educated white people who don't struggle financially. Many of them do not relate to many of the people that we serve. I happen to have made a career of working in non-traditional transportation and that means a broader cross-section of society, So I am routinely bringing that perspective to the table even if it is not my lived experience.” “Diverse problem solving teams can ‘see’ and explore a broader range ideas that meet the needs of a broader range of humans.” “People gain or lose based on other's opinions.” “The community wants to see people like them supporting them, and considering their needs. Having the background to understand.” “There's a level of comfort when people look like you.” Neutral “The transportation industry itself has more men than women, so companies who do not represent a diverse profile, still do ok. It has to be accomplished across the board.” “Our customer profile isn't that diverse (depending how you define the customers -- many businesses are traditionally owned, but as a government agency, your question holds)” 90

“It depends on how you define success and during what particular timeframe you are looking at.” “I think there is a lot to be said with the EOE.” “I haven't thought about it.” “I have no idea what that statement means.” “Little correlation between cause and effect.” “Some ways yes, others no (e.g. transit rider profile doesn't track the professional level staff we have for program support).” “Our customers do have the same struggles with diversity as we do. It is an industry wide issue.” Disagree “Hire the best person for the job.” “Customer profile is majority male, so I disagree. However, there are some customers that may not revert to a male dominated arena best person for the job. Not filling quotas.” “Qualifications and prior achievement are more important that racial, religious or economic considerations.” “Trying to hit a constantly moving target always leaves you behind.” “While from a sales perspective that may be the case. the customer profile of my industry i think has very little direct contact with majority of organization.” Strongly “The equity nature of an organization is that it's best not to match disagree demographic profile and customer profile. A mixed bag encourages the contact with others with differences to bring about a melting pot.”

18. Open-ended question: Have you witnessed any intentional or unintentional biases towards women in your organization? if so, please provide an example. “The culture in many areas of a transit organization can alienate women. Infrastructure groups come to mind, very male dominated. I think many people believe women can't do track work, so they don't get those jobs.” “Yes, men will often make sexually motivated comments or jokes in the presence of women. I feel as though it is a 'test' to see how we will react.” “Unintentionally, I see more females in the administrative and marketing/business development positions in my organization, instead of technical positions. I started in transportation as a second career, so I joined as an administrative assistant while I learned about the industry. I fully intended on working hard and rising through the ranks, but was constantly stonewalled by my manager at the time, whom was a female. A male colleague is whom brought me into a technical position, wherein I was able to finally develop my career, get support to further my education, and participate in industry groups and events.” “Almost always are unintentional, and based on "the way things have always been".

“Unintentional bias occurs every day. It is much easier to develop close relationships with people that share common background.” “Women are often given menial task work (e.g. note-taking) instead of providing knowledge and helping make decisions during meetings.” “Yes, where people talk about women's maternity leave or men compare how short their paternity leave is.” “Yes, too many to describe. general categories include: disparate pay and negotiation process, non-competitive hiring process, sexual harassment, gender discrimination. It is also important to note that racial biases are also common which also hurt women.” “Yes. Only men screened in for a HR role or Business Intelligence role due to the min qualifications.” “Need more women in the engineering ranks. And as bus operators and trade positions.” “In our hiring process we have to have at least one woman or diverse person in our four top candidate choices. This leads to treating diverse candidates as tokens. It is a misplaced mechanism for advancing diversity. I have seen where women are included just to check the box but are not seriously considered, or if they are considered, there is a feeling that the woman was only hired because she is a woman and we need more diversity.” “Yes. I’ve known a few women whose intention to return to work was questioned because they took extended maternity leave.” “Yes. I have seen pay inequities across genders among people managed by the same person (a man).” “Yes. In a panel interview once a while the panel was discussing a candidate one member of the panel said a female candidate "talked too much", even though I 'm pretty certain that is the point of an interview. He did not have that comment for a man that talked equally as much.” “In meetings, females feedback, recommendations and opinions are often ignored or dismissed until a Male makes the same recommendation/statement. In addition, they are more willing to take a "chance" on a male than a female with similar backgrounds/experiences. Others include: "it’s a male industry, no female would want to do that type of work, no women have that experience, etc.."” “Yes - in all my workplaces I have seen and experienced gender bias. It has been different degrees and levels at each place. Often when I am leading group discussion I notice men will direct their questions to a male counterpart instead of me. I have to decide to let it go or assert myself. Most of the bias I experience or observe is implicit. This makes it hard to address and confront because often they don’t realize they are doing it. I have also observed men recognizing it and supporting the female by addressing it so the female does not have to.”

“Yes. A couple of my colleagues and I have been meeting to discuss concerns with our department management. Our male counterpart noted that he does not feel he is treated the same way that us female supervisors are." He feels he is given a greater benefit of the doubt and even noted that he seems like he is talked to differently than we are.” “Yes.” “Yes, intentional. Women experience challenges working in construction.” “Yes. I work in local government. I am the go to person except when the leadership wants to give a position, project, or credit to a male in the organization. The leadership does not say - not you your a women - but instead says - not you your not an engineer-. This is code because there are zero women engineers in the organization.” “Insistence on calling women "girls", while referring to men as men; relegation of administrative tasks (like note-taking for meetings) to women instead of men in equivalent positions; calling a woman "bitchy" or "bossy" for behavior that is expected from a man.” “From some board members who may talk down to a woman.” “The executive team is less than 1/2 women...by a lot. One female supervisor, who spoke her mind, was eventually fired.” “At my last state transportation agency women who were driven and focused on making change were considered to be aggressive where the same behaviors in a man were considered to be assertive. We need to find better balance and space to let women lead without that being a negative connotation.” “Men with no prior experience have been brought in at higher salaries than women with several years experience.” “Yes. I have been in a meeting where I was talked over and interrupted by the meeting leader multiple times, but a male colleague was allowed to continue uninterrupted and make the same points. The male colleague pointed out his observation afterwards but didn't say anything during the meeting.” “After my colleague and I took the required anti-bias training, my colleague showed he had no understanding of how white male privilege manifests itself. His criteria was that he was not rich. It can be hard to explain to someone like that they don't have to wait to get served at a restaurant until the white person they are meeting arrives, or they don't get followed by security in the store, or get told to get back to their part of town.” “Yes, there are still men in the organization who think they know everything better than anyone, particularly women. Fortunately, not pervasive but certainly still there in summer pockets.” “Comments about women staying home with kids, but I don't hear the same about men.”

“Yes, mostly unintentional bias in meetings. Interrupting, doubting ability and knowledge on subjects, ideas being dismissed or laughed at, and also its been difficult to get fellow male employees to join in the events and conferences the women in my office go to for the advancement of women in transportation. I think we need to figure out how to make them allies in our mission.” “Yes. Men are treated as more valuable by the way they are spoken to.” “My manager has a habit of asking a female a question and going after the female to a male and accepting his response. Pay is a problem. The men in my department are often paid more for the exact same work even though the woman has more experience, do more work and is required to support the organization in motherly ways; unlike the male counterpart.” “Yes. My replacement in a previous role was partially unsuccessful due to gender bias of direct reports. The peer-to-peer relationship most men have in the supervisory role was not able to be created due to optics of many of the families of the direct reports.” “Yes, basically how people treat managers that are women vs how they treat other male counterparts. And not just within this organization, but even within interactions with outside vendors /agencies.” “My firm started as a woman owned firm. Women are in charge now. There is a concerted effort to place women into leadership positions. And we have been very successful.” “Yes, but in a good way. Our organization often picks project managers based on the client relationship and if a woman client is in the leadership position our company will choose the PM based on existing relationship. One example putting forth a woman PM for a woman client.” “Some divisions are overweighted with men and some are overweighted with women. There is definitely bias in hiring - it goes both ways. It would be good to work toward eliminating personal bias in hiring regardless of gender or race.” “Same point as before - parachute positions have been made for white males in the executive director's office, without competing the work.” “My own personal treatment differs from my male counterparts (I am only woman in same position) and executive vice president (my direct supervisor) has set a tone that this treatment is acceptable. I am judged differently for my performance which affects my raises (which was less than 1% this year), yet my performance and record for winning work is much higher. Industry counterparts and clients see the value I bring, yet I am not recognized or rewarded for it. There is no tolerance for mistakes from me - I have to be perfect with everything I do. This is not the expectation for my male counterparts.” “For sure unintentional. Men interrupting women in meetings when women are expected to wait their turn.”

“No not at current organization, but a previous organization it appeared that if had token representation then the organization seemed unintentionally bias to have male dominated workplace in more technical and higher level engineering positions.” “I think the lowest paid entry positions (clerks) are the highest percentage of female employees. I do fell that the Company has made an effort thru the years to acknowledge the male bias of the industry, but it is not a normal business in that providing freight service is not a 9 to 5 with weekends off work life. I think that complicates attracting, retaining and promoting females (sometimes it’s hard to retain anyone).” “Yes, I believe our customer prefers to have women in management positions and has promoted that to our senior management.” “Yes, women are required to do more work for the same recognition as a man.” “Sure. Women, especially more junior women, are often silenced, talked over, or interrupted by men, especially if the men are more senior.” “The requirement to not have open strollers on buses is both an intentional requirement with unintentional consequences. If women are running errands, have groceries and children, they have to limit what they bring with them or unload everything in order to fold the stroller and be allowed to board the bus.” “Yes, I find that men belittle women or focus on things such as hairstyles.” “Yes, I myself was subject to gender-based pay disparities. It's too long a story to explain here but suffice it to say I was offered a lower salary than what I was told was even the lowest. I had to fight for a fair salary, but then a man with much less experience than me was given the same salary I had to fight for, with no questions asked of him.” “Yes; perception that women are less fit than men for field work. Outdoors, dirty, long hours and irregular schedule...” “Yes. See previous answers.” “During one of our construction update meetings, a senior manager routinely asked for one of our female engineers to attend so that they could take notes. At the same time, there was another male engineer there at each meeting capable of this role. It came down to a discussion of how duties were distributed to change behavior. Unfortunately, the change did not come quickly enough and we lost three young female engineers over similar gender based assignments.” “Yes, preference is always given to men first when deciding who should run a project, work on a project, etc.” “Bias against time spent in caretaking roles (mother, for example) that are traditionally more of a time burden for women.” “Asked to purchase a black notebook to replace my pink notebook.”

“Men tend to be in engineering roles that are more respected and better paid because they're "data-driven" while women tend to be in planning/public involvement roles which seems to garner less respect/pay because they are more qualitative in nature. I believe this leads to valuing men's opinions more because of their titles & background, when qualitative, community engagement work is very valuable (I would argue more valuable than data- driven analysis).” “I think there is a bias when a woman gets a higher position that it is only given to her because she is a woman rather than because she is the best candidate for the job.” “Yes. Blatant disregard to accomplishments of women of color compare to not only men but women white women. Also have seen managers, directors disregard thoughts of women and people of color without having them thoroughly discussed by a greater audience.” “In my previous role in consulting, all the time. Everything from parental leave policies, to lack of women and diversity in management. In municipal government, much less and can't think of a specific example.” “Women have intentionally been kept in subservient roles.” “Yes. Because of the unsafe work conditions due to a predatory male supervisor, women were unwilling to apply for positions in the supervisor's division; everyone loses. We lose the women's expertise in their primary areas of focus and they lose the opportunity to do the work they love.” “YES; our organization is intentionally being more biased to obtain women in our organization.” “No.” “No.” “No intentional.” “Although there are many women leaders, it seems like most of the leadership is male. This is unintentional, I believe.” “No.” “No but I am struggling with attracting women in the technology sector.” “Not in the current organization, which is one reason I love working here. (In previous organizations, yes.)” “No, indeed, women are strongly encouraged to advance. But there are very few resumes of women to begin with.” “No.” “No.” “Personally, I have not.” “Not in my organization, but in Engineering generally, women face biases all the time, generally unintentional I think, mostly just due to the disparity in numbers.” “No.” “No.” 96

“Not my current organization, but definitely my past organizations - which led me to open my own firm. Career and organization growth for women was limited (and therefore competitive) at larger firms and non-existent at smaller firms.” “I have not.” “No, but I hear rumors that women get promoted easier than men, not sure I believe it.” “No. Everyone has the same opportunity.” “Not that I can think of - it is more our innate social biases that get reflected in our interactions.” “Appearances seem that some management are more concerned about promoting women in management roles that they overlooked better qualified men.” “No.” “No I have not.” “No.” “No.” “No. We're good!” “No.” “No.” “No. My DOT likes to hire women.” “No.” “No.” “No.” “No.” “No.”

19. Open-ended question: What would most effectively encourage gender equity in your organization?

“Having more women in top leadership. We have several women who are second or third from the top, but hardly any at the very top.” “Hiring well qualified candidates that are interested in the work. Train existing and new employees on gender equality while remaining open minded to others views and concerns. Address the concerns with data driven information.” “The equal opportunities, work/life balance and staff empowerment.” “Being open about the need and not talking around the issue.” “Probably having more women in leadership.” “Promotion of work-life balance from the top-down; there’s no other way around it.” 97

“Hiring, mentoring, career planning.” “A genuine analysis of salaries for pay equity.” “Continue finding leadership opportunities for women.” “We have a women's book club that meets during work hours quarterly. The books read typically touch on challenges that women in the work force face. It would be great if at least all male managers and up were required to read these books so they could see the challenges women face.” “Vision from upper management.” “More discussion of balancing work responsibilities with family, regardless of your gender.” “Honestly, more women in decision-making positions would encourage gender equity.” “Experiencing the conditions of women in the work place. Creating forums to educate the work force on what equity is. Creating opportunities for employees to be ambassadors of equity by providing them with tools and knowledge on the subject. Establish a top-down approach to adopting an equity platform.” “If we weren't so focused on research dollars and who brings in the most research dollars.” “Addressing inequities and abusive systems.” “Hiring practices and work-life balance support.” “Honestly, I am not sure. Based on our efforts and our horrible results, I am starting to wonder if women really are not into the transportation sector. Research shows otherwise, but we are not seeing this. Leadership roles.” “Yes. See previous answers regarding creating specific numerical targets for the percentage of women employees, percentage of female supervisors and managers, the percentage of top female leaders, the number of women leaving the organizations, exit interview surveys, and focusing on intersectionality of female employees and staff.” “Opening up the ownership class.” “Leadership that promotes gender equity.” “Quite honestly an outside entity making the organization proactively pursue gender and race equality.” “Currently taken care of.” “Hiring in particular needs a rethinking to remove gender bias from the application process.” “A top down support for equality as well as actionable tasks that support the talk.” “I have no idea. We could start with defined maternity leave policies. We need to tweak the hiring quota practices.”

“Fair treatment and recognition of both genders.” “I think the first step is job and wage representation. I'd also argue there should be actual consequences for people that demonstrate gender discrimination, sexual harassment or general disregard for diversity in the workplace. People respond to disincentives.” “Re-evaluating the requirements for specific jobs (years of experience in railroad/transportation), balancing experience with demonstrated ability, education and potential-- Give female a development opportunity without all of the un-necessary requirements.” “Be intentional on addressing the issue by evaluating the data by gender.” “We need collaborative leadership. We all need to be working on professional development plans for our employees who choose to have one. Otherwise, it will be the same individuals rising.” “Focused recruiting and retention efforts.” “While I believe my organization does a great job, a quarterly report on workforce equity would go a long way toward transparency. If areas come up that need improvement, then it's everyone's job to work on it.” “Support for working parents. Interest in diverse educational and professional backgrounds.” “Men taking more sick time and personal leave off, especially CEO's and talking about mental health.” “Seeing women in non-traditional roles inspires other women to join the organization. We've had success in some areas, and none in others.” “More women in the field to make incoming women feel more comfortable.” “I believe we promote gender equity currently as an organization.” “Some of the necessary policies have just been implemented at my organization - a flexible work environment that allows you to work from home part or full time if possible and unlimited PTO that is to be used to support a work/life balance, without risk of retaliation. I want to see a more gender diverse executive management team. It is still far too male- dominated.” “Recruitment explicitly stating such a desire, and a mentor matched with each person hired to achieve progress.” “Promotion and success of women to executive and leadership roles. More examples of successful women in an organization could serve as models for others.” “Advocates for work/life balance and less judgement. People always want to compare their selves but its about how well you can do.” “Concerted efforts to recruit, develop, retain and advance women.” Unsure.”

“Many times, women are part of the team, sometimes the leader sometimes not, but generally the leader is the recognized person, so I think a more team recognition would be appreciated and would show the true value of women contributing regularly.” “A cultural shift in our society away from male dominated ways of doing things.” “It starts with hiring, promoting, and training throughout the organization. It is not enough to say look at the overall number of women in the organization if they are hired in non-engineering roles, in positions not requiring a college degree, and in positions traditionally held by women only (think administrative assistants, cashiers, file clerks).” “Have a female CEO.” “A commitment to developing a leadership pipeline for women - at least a talented bench and promoting from that bench into leadership positions at all levels of the organization.” “More outreach to girls before they choose careers.” “Continued advocacy.” “Those who come from experiences where it was not available and can repeatedly identify where we can improve as we progress. Generic statements that we aren't there percentagewise will not cut it and just make the effort seem futile. We can’t hire those who do not apply for jobs.” “We carry out awareness campaigns.” “Equal opportunity to all gender, which is what they do...... ” “Qualified women in positions of leadership. Poorly qualified and poor performing women have made it harder for women in my organization.” “Not sure.” “Recruiting more women from Colleges and even high schools and inspire a "love" for STEM subjects.” “Anti-racism trainings, community groups.” “Well, I think that needs to start at the grade school and high school levels encouraging kids of all race, sex, etc in all components of STEM. Women and men alike need encouragement all through the educational spectrum to get more balance in transportation agencies.” “Not sure.” “More women at a higher position that has a seat and voice at the table.” “People need to change their thought process. How do you change perception? Good question.” “More flexible work environment.” “I think the organization already does a great job.” “I think we need to care about gender equity, including persons who do not identify with the traditional male/female gender, as much as we care about 100

racial equity. I also believe it's important to care about equity issues in relation to age and disability, which are often not discussed in equity training or equity initiatives.” “Ensuring and holding managers accountable for treating their workers sensitively and fairly.” “Women in leadership roles.” “Great leadership with the right attitude, which we have.” “I wish I knew.” “Pay gap statistics.” “More women in positions of power in the industry.” “Not pretending that the bias doesn't exist. Asking women how you can assist to make the workplace more equal. Offering organizational wide classes and activities to men on the subject instead of just women. (example: women in my organization started a bookclub where we read books about female empowerment in the workplace. No men are in that club and they are missing out on an opportunity to understand and hear women speak about these problems).” “More women in leadership positions from management to executive.” “Equal pay.” “Being open and honest about the situation. Providing real live situations for the decision makers to work through so they understand how they are harming women with their behavior.” “A change in behaviors of executive level management. Currently they model behavior that tells others it's acceptable to treat others with double standards and that women are not valued the same as men.” “Honest dialog.” “Mentoring and special project assignments equally distributed between genders to accommodate opportunities for growth and advancement.” “Better working conditions and work life balance.” “Projects that allow us to work together.” “Job fairs, linked in to show the environment is for everyone.” “I really don’t know. It’s very hard to change a centuries old culture even when the organization acknowledges there is a disparity. I think continuing to acknowledge the inequity and encouraging a strong mentoring program might be one way.” “Offer 30 hour/week full-time positions to parents. That way fathers can have a larger part in taking care of their children and mothers in the fields have more time with their families. That may make it less likely for women to leave the field in order to raise their families.” “Higher pay, better benefits, shorter hours!”

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“We have gender equity.” “Paid family leave (16 weeks+ offered to both men and women) so that family planning does not impact career progression. Men should be encouraged to take the full amount of family leave offered to them so women are not viewed as a potential detriment due to needing time off to care/bond for baby and recover from birth. “ “More women motivated to technical training.” “Unfortunately, I don't really know. I don't believe our issues are intentional. Which means to me that they don't view the behavior as inappropriate. So I suppose awareness would be the best way to encourage equity. Hopefully sooner rather than later.” “More women graduating with engineering degrees.” “Focus on outreach to field employees to women. Scheduled (union) employee growth of women will drive upward changes.” “If more women wanted to enter into the industry. Transit as a whole seems to be very encouraging to gender equity among all positions at least in my experience.” “Compensation and common sense.” “Make sure that qualified people are hired; when someone is brought in/up who fails, they cast a shadow on others who share the same classifications (again, whether gender, race, religion, where they come from etc.) for those who like to generalize.” “Education, experience, leadership.” “Increase tuition re-imbursement amount for employees to obtain more advanced degrees based on needs of organization.” “More women in transportation, starting in the college arena.” “Knowledge of opportunities.” “Part time option.” “My current organization should keep on doing it's great job and keep it's great attitude toward encouraging gender equity.”

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APPENDIX C

SURVEY FOR STUDENTS

Background:

What is the highest level of education you have received?

Undergraduate Student Graduate student: ≤2 29% years, have not graduated 38%

Master's degree and above, graduated Graduate student: 2+ years, 14% have not graduated 19%

What is your gender?

Male Female 48% 52%

Perceptions: 1. Do you believe that men and women will be treated equitably (compensation, job advancement, fairness, etc) in your future workplace?

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No 14% Yes 43%

Sometimes 43%

2. What position do you believe most women hold at your future organization?

Executive 5%

Director Individual 19% Contributor 33%

Manager 43%

3. Do you feel that women will be seen as having authority to make decisions at work?

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No 5% Sometimes 19%

Yes 76%

4. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: I foresee that there will be a dominant masculine culture in my future workplace.

Strongly disagree Strongly agree Disagree 5% 19% 14%

Neutral 19% Agree 43%

5. What percentage of women do you think makes up your future workplace?

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More than 50% 0-10% 5% 5%

>10-25% 33%

>25-50% 57%

Workplace Culture and Support 6. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: My future work environment understands and accommodates a flexible work-life balance.

Strongly disagree 5%

Strongly agree Disagree 14% 14%

Agree 19%

Neutral 48%

7. Do you believe there will be sufficient gender diversity at your workplace?

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No 48% Yes 52%

8. If the workplace offers an optional program that encourages gender equity or support for women which meets weekly for 1 hour, would you join?

No 14%

Yes 86%

9. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: I foresee barriers to women’s professional success at my future workplace.

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Strongly Strongly disagree agree 5% 9%

Disagree 9%

Neutral 29% Agree 48%

Evaluation and Promotion: 10a. Do you foresee women having more, fewer, or the same opportunities to advance professionally as men?

Women have more opportunities than men Women and men have the 48% same opportunities 43% Women have fewer opportunities than men

10b. Please elaborate. 11. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: Professional and/or educational credentials will significantly help me advance in the workplace.

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Neutral Disagree Strongly 5% 0% disagree 0%

Agree Strongly 43% agree 52%

12. Have you had any professional internships? b. Yes b. No 13. Do you believe that men and women could do more to advocate for the advancement of and equity for women in your organization?

No 0%

Yes 100%

Hypothesis Questions on Representation of Women at the Workplace: 14a. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: If your future workplace increases the percentage of women at work, and creates a culture that supports both men and women equitably, both employees and the organization will benefit.

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Neutral Disagree Strongly 0% 0% disagree 0% Agree 19%

Strongly agree 81%

14b. Please elaborate. 15. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: I foresee concerns with the work requirements and/or environment that makes it less suitable for women.

Strongly Strongly disagree agree 5% 9%

Disagree Agree 24% 19%

Neutral 43%

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Strongly Disagree disagree 0% 0% Neutral 14% Strongly agree 48% Agree 38%

Strongly disagree 0% Disagree Strongly 10% agree 9%

Neutral 19%

Agree 62%

17b. Please elaborate. Open-ended Questions:

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18. Open-ended question: What do you believe is the origin of your perception of

women working in the transportation industry?

19. Open-ended question: What does gender equity mean to you? Do you consider

the topic to be important for the future of your organization’s success?

20. Open-ended question: How are the motivating factors for success the same or

different for men versus women pursuing transportation careers?

21. Your Major (Optional)

22. Why are you interested in taking this survey? (Optional)

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APPENDIX D

WRITE-IN COMMENTS FROM THE SURVEY FOR STUDENTS

10a. Do you foresee women having more, fewer, or the same opportunities to advance professionally as men? 10b. Please elaborate. Women will “No write in comment.” have more opportunities than men Women and “I imagine my future workplace will be like the place I interned. This men will place had diverse representation in terms of race and gender.” have the same opportunities

“I intend to go into academia where there are numerous challenges that working women (especially mothers) face that men do not. While academia is hiring more women and professors, they may not have the same support to fully participate in these opportunities.” “I believe that qualifications speak for themselves. If a person has demonstrated capability and drive for a position, there is no logical reason they should not be considered.” Women will “I think that even though there will be some opportunities for women have fewer to move up, it will still feel like women doing a man's job. It will never opportunities feel like women should just be there. I would love to get to a place than men where who does the jobs do not matter.”

“In today's world we live in an environment that is men-dominant. Even though efforts are put in place to create a more equal professional environment, reaching a sense of fairness (equity) is long beyond current practices.” “There are many systemic barriers and the presence of unconscious bias makes it very hard for women to progress at the same rate as men.” “With having kids and pregnancy, women will face some set back in their career goals if the company does not provide support provide or required benefits to their female employees.” “As much as I would like Women to have equal opportunity. I just don't know that the culture will change in my lifetime.”

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“Implicit bias will probably lead to more male promotions. Women in engineering companies also hold more supporting roles than actual engineering roles with less opportunity for advancement.” “Women are taken less seriously in the workplace. More often than not, they are perceived as weaker and less aggressive or intelligent.”

14a. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: If your future workplace increases the percentage of women at work, and creates a culture that supports both men and women equitably, both employees and the organization will benefit. 14b. Please elaborate. “There is no point in just increasing the number of a particular gender just to fill the quota. This results in under qualified candidates getting hired. Treat all the genders with respect. Everyone should feel they are treated equitably. When the companies hire, it should be purely based on the candidate’s credentials. Companies should work with schools to promote underrepresented categories to get educated and have the credentials to apply for a particular post.” “Diverse perspectives make a better workplace.” “Good ideas are a byproduct of collaboration between individuals with different backgrounds.” “Everyone benefits from diversity. Diversity of people or ideas in the workplace brings new experiences and ideas to the table.” “Increasing diversity in a workplace, especially one that is involved in providing transportation services, will always be a benefit because it brings in more diverse viewpoints and understanding of how people travel and what barriers they face.” “When more people are allowed to speak their mind and bring up new ideas, the more creative and overall, better the work produced will be. Additionally, the employees will benefit since women will be less preoccupied with being self-conscious of their gender.” “Toxic masculinity hurts men too. By not supporting women in industry, you lose half the talent that could be making advancements. Gender representation also leads to variety in ideas.” “I think that women and men are equals. I believe that the sooner this equity transfers to pay and opportunity the better we all will be.” “Everyone benefits from more diversity.”

16a. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: If a greater percentage of women were in transportation careers, women’s needs and travel patterns would be better represented in how transportation systems are designed, creating a more inclusive and passenger-friendly transportation system. “Having a strong female presence in a field can bring new perspectives.”

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“The more diverse representation in a field, the more diverse the final product, which yields an overall better and inclusive product.” “Same as in 14b. A woman uses transportation differently than a man might or they might use it in the exact same way. We'll never know until new voices are at the table.” “Same answer as 14b... things that are known in the literature, for example that women tend to take more “chained” trips, more trips during the work day, etc while public transit systems are generally designed to operate best during commute times.” “Experiences that disproportionally affect women will be taken into account more that will result in a better human systems interaction.” “I don't even know what to say, it's self explanatory.”

17a. How much do you agree/disagree with the following statement: A component of the organization's success is the organization profile (demographics) as a representation of the customer profile (demographics). “The firm must understand the needs of the client and market as such to be profitable.” “If the organization understands the customer's needs and wants and can relate to those needs and wants on a personal level, they will be more likely to deliver a satisfactory product.” “You can better solve problems if you belong to a community and understand it's needs. But it depends how you measure success so I didn't put strongly agree. If success is about profit and exploiting a community you can more easily do that without representation.”

18. Open-ended question: What do you believe is the origin of your perception of women working in the transportation industry? “Transportation is a daily need and women can contribute to it as they form a major part of the travelers. They can come up with innovative ideas and new perspectives. For example- how to increase the transit ridership of public transportation facilities by providing more safety and comfort to females.” “What I have heard from colleagues.” “My experience in the city department of transportation.” “Internship experience, previous discussions with professionals, gender disparities present in academia.” “A graduating class in high-school that was diverse and well represented by women.” “I believe all humans are created equal.” “I think the origin comes from historical views of STEM jobs. They have traditionally been male dominated and even now the low level jobs (pilots,

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bus drivers, train engineers) are still predominantly male. It is slowly changing and I'm happy for it because I'd like to break in.” “Talking to women who work in transportation, attending professional panels composed of mostly men, statistics about % of women in managerial positions vs. lower positions.” “My experience as a women in classroom settings, especially in STEM classes. As well as internship experiences where I realized there were more Scott's than women.” “I think it is great, since males and females may have different perspectives, which is good for the development of transportation.” “I believe that gender should not play a role in a persons worth as an employee. It should be based on merit and qualifications. This comes from how I was raised. Men and Women are equals period.” “My mother works in public transportation and she actually persuaded me to pursue this career as a field in engineering.”

19. Open-ended question: What does gender equity mean to you? Do you consider the topic to be important for the future of your organization’s success? “It definitely is important. For me, it is a world where professional is treated with respect irrespective of the gender. Their growth in career is not hindered just because they belong to a particular gender.” “Important in every organization. Gender equity means that you gender should not bias the opportunities you get access to.” “Gender-equity means equal power and roles for all genders. and empowering people from all gender identities.” “Gender equity means hiring based on credentials and maintaining a professional perspective of co-workers throughout your career. Yes. "We rise by lifting others" – Ingersoll” “Gender equity sounds like every employee will be treated fairly within the company regardless of their identity. People will be supported and offered ample opportunity for mentorship and professional development on the way to growth and promotions — regardless of gender.” “Gender equity means the removal of barriers that hinder individuals from pursuing personal fulfillment.” “Gender equity means distributing resources and attention adequately to ensure the chance for equality in the future, which means focusing on the needs of marginalized communities. This is very important for every minority group moving forward.” “I do think it is important. And it means in my opinion that both have equal representation, opportunity, and are judged on merit and work ethic not gender.” “Gender equity is better for both males and females. I think it is quite important for the future of the organization's success.” 116

“It's a part of a greater equity issue which covers race, class, etc. It's important to the future of our society for their to be representation, not just a specific company.” “Equity is very important for an organization's success. If the employees are unhappy and are being mistreated, there is no way that the best work can be produced.” “Gender equity means to understand that women are inherently at a social disadvantage and to consciously work towards understanding and reversing the damage it does. It does not yet mean to treat men and women equally.” “Gender equity is the needs of women in the workplace and in transportation systems is considered and accounted for, that the male worker or male traveler is not seen as the default.” “Gender equity for me means that men, women, and everyone in between get the same access to the same end goal. In this case it is equal pay, equal standing and equal.”

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APPENDIX E

TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

Bias: prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.

Diversity: the practice or quality of including or involving people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, sexual orientations, etc.

Equity: the quality of being fair and impartial.

Equality: the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities.

Inclusion: the achievement of a work environment in which all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully, have equal access to opportunities and resources, and can contribute fully to the organization’s success.

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Appendix F

TOOLS AND RESOURCES

1. Take a Test: Harvard University Project Implicit Test - Gender Science test or

Gender – Career test. This IAT often reveals a relative link between family and females and between career and males. Available from Project Implicit: A non-profit organization and international collaboration between researchers who are interested in implicit social cognition - thoughts and feelings outside of conscious awareness and control. This test will take less than 10 minutes to complete and results will be shared at the end of the test.

Link: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html

2. Watch: Lean In's 20 minute video: Creating a Level Playing Field

Link: https://leanin.org/education/creating-a-level-playing-field

3. Complete: Facebook’s “Managing Bias” training

Link: https://managingbias.fb.com/

4. Join: WTS. WTS International is dedicated to creating a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable transportation industry through the global advancement of women. We advance women; advance transportation.

Link: https://www.wtsinternational.org/

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APPENDIX G