Unpacking Common Gender Biases Society Needs To Stop

All over the world, on the 8th of March, women are celebrated for their socio-economic, political and cultural achievements. What a great day! On the day, individuals and organizations put out powerful messages urging people to support the movement to give women the support, respect and recognition they deserve. This year’s campaign theme, Break The Bias, is thought-provoking, and it has been displayed in many different exciting ways across social platforms.

International Women’s Day is the perfect time for some introspection. Posting about biases against the feminine gender on social media is pivotal – however, it is not enough. Take a moment to ask yourself how you consciously or subconsciously contribute to the biases women face every day.

Here, we’ve itemized some “every day” biases and stereotypes that women face to bring awareness to them and hopefully put an end to them. Of course, many of the stereotypes highlighted are transport-related because it’s right up our alley. Let’s get started!

“Female Drivers Are Bad Drivers”

This is one popular stereotype, and it is entirely baseless as there’s no correlation between people’s driving skills and their gender. On Nigerian highways, you’ll frequently hear slurs like “why you dey drive like woman”, “na woman, e no sabi drive”, and many more. Meanwhile, according to a New York Times article, women tend to be better drivers than men — much better, judging by the number of deaths they cause on the road.

“Madam I don’t Want To Talk To You, Call Your Husband Let’s Talk Man To Man”

This is perhaps one of the most condescending biases women experience on Nigerian highways. Many women have given accounts of how a male driver would refuse to mediate directly when that male driver “bashes” their vehicle. The male drivers would tell the female driver to put their husband or boyfriend on the phone instead. It has to stop! Grown women are fully capable of handling issues independently and reaching logical resolutions; without male interference.

“You’re A Female Commercial Driver? That’s Not Gender Appropriate”

At Shuttlers, women play a crucial part in our operations. We have seasoned female professionals playing pivotal roles in the Shuttlers ecosystem. Amongst them are female bus drivers, bus marshals, operations experts and tech gurus. Female drivers and bus marshals sometimes get feedback that their roles are not “female-appropriate”. Again, we must reiterate here that gender has nothing to do with driving, and there’s no industry or role where a woman cannot thrive.

“Tapping Current On Public Vehicles”

As sadistic as this may sound, there have been a lot of reports from women about cases of sexual harassment onboard public vehicles. More needs to be done to protect women on board public vehicles – and this is one of the problems that we are solving with our shuttle services at Shuttlers. Professional women are guaranteed a safe and secure transport experience with Shuttlers.

“She Must’ve Sold Her Body To Get That Thing Or Opportunity”

This is an age-long narrative that women cannot be independently successful without using their bodies has to stop! It is strange that in 2022, successful women are still getting disrespected this way. It’s almost as if people do not expect certain levels of success from women, so when a woman goes ahead to break the glass ceiling, it’s automatically attributed to the influence of a man. To this, we say kudos to women out there who are showing time and again that women can be independently successful.

At Shuttlers, we believe that women should be celebrated every day and given equal opportunities to succeed in life. We believe that gender equality today is pivotal to a sustainable tomorrow. 

As a woman, wherever you are and in whatever capacity you can, keep breaking glass ceilings. Just like your ancestor before you, You Can Do It! 

Watch the video below where some amazing women from the Shuttlers team share their heartfelt IWD messages:

To further celebrate women, all new and existing users will enjoy a 50% one-time discount on rides in the month of March. Use the promo code IWD-SHTH38 to get your discount.

#BreakTheBias

Download the Shuttlers app for iOS and Android and experience safe, fast comfortable and affordable commuting today!

Shuttlers is a Nigerian mobility company that’s tackling the transportation challenges in metropolitan cities, leveraging technology. Our mission is to transform the way people commute around the world, by building a global partner network and connecting communities of Shuttlers like we are presently doing in Lagos, Nigeria.