The rideshare sector needs to address the startling lack of women drivers

The rideshare industry has seen tremendous growth in recent years, but the lack of women drivers in this space remains disappointing.

Where so many industries are rallying to address the disparity when it comes to employees and representation, why is the transport industry — particularly the rideshare sector — so far behind?

On the surface, a career in rideshare is a fitting option for both men and women. The flexibility offered as a standard in the industry should be immensely attractive.

When serving as a primary caregiver, the flexibility needed to accommodate childcare arrangements, school commitments, and family scheduling can preclude 9 to 5 work as an option. With rideshare comes the ability to schedule earnings around other commitments.

The factors that contribute to the divide are not vastly different from those in other industries — safety concerns, income equality — and yet, the lag in addressing the problem is clear.

Rideshare apps are at an advantage in terms of driver safety to begin with. The routes are tracked, and ‘’flagging” isn’t an option, so passengers are subject to being easily identifiable through accounts that require a phone number and credit card information.

However, all the safety precautions in the world don’t necessarily counter the fact that the job requires picking up strangers. Reddit threads around the world are peppered with posts requesting advice on safety, sharing concerns about safety, and actively warning against picking up passengers in specific circumstances.

There are a few things to be done from within organisations to ensure the most amount of protection is afforded to all — drivers or riders, men or women. The obvious implementation of mandatory background checks for all drivers is a common occurrence, but it shouldn’t stop there.

Mike Chauhan of inDrive. Source: Supplied

The state regulators do the lion’s share of the work through relevant legislation in order to ensure organisations are providing a safe environment. But they can only do so much; an additional, proactive approach to safety and accountability can be taken from within individual rideshare companies as well.

Policies and codes of conduct are set in place by the regulating bodies to define what constitutes poor behaviour for drivers and passengers, and organisations can then maintain a clearly defined set of consequences when these policies are violated.

The policies are regularly reviewed and updated to align with the changing needs of drivers and passengers. With those policies in place, there should be a reporting system established for riders and drivers to safely report instances of bad behaviour. This can be done via a dedicated phone number or email address.

Rideshare applications should make standard the option to contact police and ambulance directly from the app, through a safety button or similar function. More than that, as soon as a driver or passenger taps the safety button, a support team representative should call them immediately to ensure their safety.

Education and training can be provided regularly. Not just on the policies and guidelines in place around behaviour, but also on how infractions can be reported.

When reports of misconduct are investigated promptly, appropriate action can be taken based on the findings. With clearly defined consequences in place, action can take the form of a warning, a fine, or potentially termination.

Additionally, when records of all reported incidents are kept, they can be used to track patterns of behaviour and also improve procedures over time.

Once safety concerns are addressed, companies can turn their attention to creating policies that promote gender diversity and equal pay. Whether this is a proactive approach to ensuring equal pay, or a commitment to regular pay audits to address any disparities identified.

There are steps that can be taken to highlight rideshare as an appealing option for female drivers as a viable career option. Not just in the initial recruitment stages, but on an ongoing basis by providing training and support throughout.

The underrepresentation of female drivers is a problem that can be addressed through proactive steps to create a safe and equitable environment. It’s not just a culture of safety that needs to be nurtured in order, but a culture of equality and accountability.

Mike Chauhan is Australia’s Country Manager for the international ride-sharing and mobility platform, inDrive.