Male-and-female-employment2012.pdf

Male and female employment in
the passenger transport sector
Contents
Male and female employment page 2
Gender perception of specific occupations page 2
Nature of specific job roles page 3
Implications of current gender imbalance page 4
Case study: Step on the Bus page 6
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Male and female employment
Male and female employment profile:
• 78 percent of the sector’s workforce is male
• Women only make up 13 per cent of the taxi and private hire operation
• The gender split within aviation is much more equal, with 44 per cent women
Whilst overall men dominate the workforce, core occupations in passenger transport are
characterised by large gender imbalances. Possibly the most extreme example is that only 13
percent of those working in taxi and private hire operations are women, whilst 79 percent of air
travel assistants are female.
The reasons for this mixed picture can largely be explained by two factors: Gender perceptions of
specific occupations and the nature of specific job roles (for instance, flexibility of hours and safety).
Table: Core occupations dominated by gender
Roles dominated by men
Roles dominated by women
Rail construction and maintenance operatives (100%) Air travel assistants (79%)
Aircraft pilots (98%) Air traffic controllers (29%)
Train drivers (96%) Rail travel assistants (27%)
Taxi and private hire (94%) Driving instructor (20%)
Bus and coach drivers (92%) Air transport operatives (17%)
Source: People 1 st analysis of the Labour Force Survey 2010, Office for National Statistics
Gender perception of specific occupations
Some sector job roles are still largely considered to be either male or female, which results in
applicants being biased towards one particular gender.
Of all the passenger transport industries, aviation is the most gender balanced industry, with women
making up 44 percent of the workforce. However, within the sector there are clear gender divisions
across occupations, with engineering, firefighting and airside operations employing more men, while
cabin crew and roles in travel and tourist services are clearly dominated by women. Employers rule
out discrimination, but point at obvious cultural factors and at the imbalance of applications for
some roles.
People 1st developed Women 1st, a targeted intervention to promote female career progression
and the development of women within the hospitality workforce. Following the merger between
People 1 st and GoSkills this programme is now being extended and tailored to target women
employed in the passenger transport sector.
“I think it’s generally because public transport has always been seen as a male domain. It’s not for
the want of trying. We are happy to take female employees in driving, engineering and management
roles.”
Mike Morton, Managing Director, Arriva Wales, Bus and coach
“It just seems to occur naturally. For example you put out an application form for control room staff
and 80 percent of the applicants are women, and you put out a driver advert and 80 percent are
men. There are no barriers.”
Peter Renwick, General Manager, Premier Car, Taxi and private hire
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Nature of specific job roles
Specific occupations continue to be male dominated because of their characteristics or the tasks
they are required to undertake. Some roles require heavy lifting, such as air ground crew, whilst
others, such as taxi and private hire, favour men due to safety considerations.
Managerial positions across the sector are strongly male-dominated. Only 24 percent of managers
across the passenger transport sector are women. This is unsurprising as managers tend to be
recruited by promoting those working in operational roles, and these roles are also male dominated.
Across the sector, women generally take on roles that are customer-oriented rather than technical in
nature, except for those who are self-employed in driver training.
“We had five new director posts and we employed an executive search company with a remit to give
us the most diverse long list they possibly could. However, they really struggled to get a diverse list
with a mix of female and male candidates. This perhaps points to the fact that within the industry
generally there are a limited number of non-white males who have got that level of experience, and
who are prepared to put themselves forward”.
Steve Chatwin, Corporate Services Director, Centro, Transport planning
Figure: Gender breakdown across main occupations in passenger transport
Source: People 1 st analysis of the Labour Force Survey 2010, Office for National Statistics
Table: Proportion of female managers across industries
Industry
% of females
Taxi and private hire 29%
Aviation 25%
Driver training 25%
Rail 23%
Bus and coach 22%
Light rail and metro 22%
UK waterways 0%
Source: People 1 st analysis of the Labour Force Survey 2010, Office for National Statistics
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There have been many initiatives to encourage more women into certain roles, for example by
promoting flexible contracts and shifts or introducing programmes that are tailored to a female
audience such as Step on the Bus (see case study).
Some employers report a gradual shift in attitude, with slightly more female drivers entering the
sector than in the past. Low rate of labour turnover in some roles such as skippers, engineers or train
drivers means that change can be slow to take effect.
Table: Proportion of female drivers
2007 2008 2009 2010
% change 2007-
2010
Train drivers 2.9%

oardroom composition, and business performance indicators such as financial performance and
shareholder value 1 .
The Catalyst report looked at the performance of Fortune 500 companies and ranked them by the
number of female board members 2 . It found that the companies with the most female board
members outperformed those with the least in all measures. They found that in 2007, for companies
in the top quartile, return on equity was 53 percent higher, return on sales 42 percent higher, and
return on invested capital 66 percent higher than for the companies in the bottom quartile.
Other studies support these findings. Research by the World Economic Forum indicates that closing
the male-female employment gap would have huge economic implications for developed countries,
boosting US GDP by as much as nine percent, Eurozone GDP by as much as 13 percent and Japanese
GDP by as much as 16 percent 3 .
Whilst most data looks at women’s individual representation on a board an increasing amount of
evidence reinforces the importance of having a number of women at board level – and three
appears to be the magic number.
The Catalyst report found that Fortune 500 companies with three or more women on the board
gained a significant performance advantage over those with the fewest:
• Over 73 percent higher return on sales
• 83 percent higher return on equity
• 112 percent higher return on invested capital
1 Emily Thomson, The relationship between actions to promote gender equality and profit, Employment
Research Institute, Napier University
http://www.closethegap.org.uk/component/option,com_docman/Itemid,64/gid,4/task,doc_download/
Accessed 25.07.2012
2 L Joy, The bottom line: corporate performance and women’s representation on boards
3 Saadia Zahidi and Herminia Ibara, The Corporate Gender Gap Report 2010
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CASE STUDY
To address the low number of women employed in the bus industry and tackle recruitment
difficulties, People 1st has developed ‘Step on the Bus’, a bespoke training programme for women.
Step on the Bus aims
The programme aims to help unemployed women find work in the passenger transport industry.
“Step onto the Bus gives women an opportunity to work in an industry they might never have
considered before. They can develop their confidence, learn new skills and find a job they enjoy. The
employers working with us on the programme really want to develop their employees and give them
every opportunity to succeed.”
Kate Deane, Head of Industry Skills, People 1 st
Step on the Bus programme
Step on the Bus is a pre-recruitment programme that gives women four weeks of soft skills and
industry specific training. This includes interview techniques, confidence building, and hazard
perception training and testing. After successfully completing this stage of the programme women
then go on to a work placement that could potentially end in a permanent job within the bus
industry.
The Step on the Bus programme sits alongside the Women 1st training and mentoring programme
that People 1st has developed to support women working in the hospitality, leisure, travel and
tourist services industries.
Step on the Bus results
Since the programme was launched in 2008, 150 women have received tailored training and
mentoring opportunities with senior industry players. To date around 50 percent of them have
found work as a direct result of the programme, although this figure continues to rise. Others go on
to find work outside of the industry or progress to further training.
The programme has support from leading industry employers such as Harrogate and District Travel,
Trent Barton and Easytravel. According to Guy Gibson, head of training at Trent Barton:
“The programme gives women an insight into passenger transport, which is not readily promoted by
schools or career professionals, so they can learn about the bus industry and then make a decision on
whether they want to work in our sector. Such an approach allows for time and cost efficiencies and
ensures that the individuals that start working for us are indeed committed to the job, and are
excited to pursue their career and be part of the awardwinning Trent Barton team.”
Success story – Virginia Floyd
Virginia Floyd was offered a place on the programme by her adviser at Jobcentre Plus. Having been
unemployed for some time, she took up the opportunity to receive the training to become a bus
driver.
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After successfully completing the four week programme, Virginia attended a work placement with
one of the employers involved in the initiative, Harrogate and District, a bus operator providing
services across much of West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and Lancashire.
Virginia’s approach to her work and to her personal development impressed her employers. Soon
after her placement she was offered a job as a trainee driver. She has now carried out her passenger
carrying vehicle (PCV) training and passed her PCV driving test.
Keith Roebuck, Harrogate and District business director, has nothing but praise for Virginia. He said:
‘Virginia has done very well and we are pleased to offer her a position with us. Her enthusiasm and
dedication is clear to see.’
Virginia is now a full time bus driver and thoroughly enjoys the job. She said: ‘I am very grateful for
this opportunity and I love my job. It was strange at first, working in a male dominated environment,
but with the training I had already received and the support of my training manager, Colleen
Wormald, I have gained confidence in my work.’
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