Rajendra P Sharma
 
Urban infrastructure provision has been treated largely as a technical exercise typically a top-down process dominated by technology with little socio-economic debates on development. Recently, some attention has been accorded to wider social and environmental factors. Poverty issues are increasingly coming up with the emphasis on participatory planning and implementation and it is becoming a commonplace to refer to the need for poor or women’s participation in local-level infrastructure development. However, the negative impact of infrastructure development in terms of social, economic and environmental factors has not yet been addressed properly and that has led to greater gender disparity. Growing debate around making urban infrastructure gender-friendly is based on gender-differentiated preferences, roles and responsibilities, and therefore different needs for services. Focusing on more infrastructural investment on services used by and appropriate to women will improve their own or other household members’ health and welfare, with significant poverty implications. Culturally women fall in separate category that warrants special attention in infrastructure provision. The extent to which gender issues are taken on board varies depending on the nature of service, the extent to which it is perceived to be closely associated with gender roles or norms and to have positive socio-environmental externalities. For example, water and sanitation, nursing, telecommunications, transportation, education, information and technology sectors have considerable potential to develop gender-sensitive policy and practice. Similarly, in the energy sector, the benefits of improved energy facilities are often perceived in terms of time saved from collecting firewood, again, a ‘women’s task and potentially reallocated to other productive activities, as well as reductions in environmental degradation.

Why gender-friendly infrastructure?
While debating gender-friendly infrastructure, gender aspects of transportation is relatively new, and is concentrated on urban areas, where it is seen as important in improving non-agricultural productivity and supply response that mostly rely on efficient transportation. Making transportation gender-friendly is so important because there are considerable differences between the travelling patterns of men and women although travel patterns may not reflect actual needs. Evidences from urban travel patterns show that the major part of the household transport burden falls on women. An urban study suggested that women’s trips to work accounted for one-third of all work-related trips, while women were responsible for at least half the non-work trips, they are more likely to combine several purposes into one trip, and the ability of women to get to work was disproportionately affected compared to that of men, suggesting that women’s travel needs had not been considered in urban context. Similarly, telecommunication, education and information and use of technologies have not yet been tackled from a gender or poverty perspective.

Policy and practice
The orientation of new approaches to infrastructure policy implies the delivery of infrastructure services that require gender-sensitive policies and strategies both at macro and micro levels. Infrastructure planning requires sectoral and cross-sectoral linkages that take gender issues into consideration. Gender considerations need to be placed at the core of key infrastructure policy debates which revolve around ownership; financing; decentralisation; equity versus efficiency; formal versus informal provision and choice of technology. Sectoral investments related to infrastructure development are now being promoted by the government with support of international support communities to improve local ownership, and provide more comprehensive coverage and use.

The consequences of infrastructure service delivery need to be fully considered since men’s and women’s interests and needs differ. introduction of new technology highly requires gender consideration by predicting the impact on women and men and close understanding of their activities, opportunities and constraints. For example, new road networks may create opportunities for women to exploit new markets or may lead to an influx of cheaper products without creating economic alternative. Collecting gender-disaggregated data to assess the likely impact and promotion of their participation in new infrastructure development is vital to ensure that new facilities and services are appropriate to their different needs.

Lessons from elsewhere
The experiences from around the world indicate us that there are several areas where a gender approach can be fruitful. First, the decentralisation of the management of infrastructure services requires educating and training and ensuring that women participate equally in education and training. Second, representation of women among decision-makers and policy-makers of public and private sector may eliminate barriers to women’s entrance to other sectors. Third, there is general consensus that the appointment of women workers contributes to improve both project performance and the situation of women workers. Forth, introduction of gender-sensitive policies and practices in parastatal utilities emphasizing on the representation of women and on training opportunities plays an important role that women may be recognized as workforce. The experience from home suggests that training alone is not enough and it must be accompanied with secure employment, as well as other measures in order to enable them to work with an special assistance of childcare and gender friendly work station.

Direction ahead
Greater attention and more recognition are needed on the provisoin and management of infrastructure services and the ways in which gender and other social divisions are represented. Gender analysis in infrastructure development gives particular attention to access, time, use and potential income-generating effects. Mechanisms for ensuring the accountability of public and private sector operators to women and low income users of infrastructure need is to be explored. At the same time, most important thing is awareness and internalization that should come at personal level. To begin, if you see a working woman is travelling in a local microbus in Kathmandu carrying an office bag, a shopping bag and an umbrella and on the other hand, a man with a glass and a mobile irritating others, seating in a seat labled "reserved for women", do not laugh but please think what you had to do if you were either that man or woman.

source:Sharma, Rajendra(2011),"Debate On Gender-Friendly Urban Infrastructure ", risingnepal,23 July 2011