Limits to Commute: The Case of Indian Women
A gendered mobility study using empirical transport analysis to examine how socio-economic conditions constrain commute distance for women in urban India.
This paper investigates commute distance as a gendered outcome, asking how far women are able, willing, or compelled to travel for work within the structural constraints of Indian cities. The project treats mobility not simply as a transport variable, but as a concrete expression of labor-market access, household constraints, and gendered bargaining over safety, time, and opportunity.
The study builds an empirical framework for understanding why women's commuting patterns often differ sharply from those of men even within the same urban systems. By linking socio-economic determinants to observed commute outcomes, the work shows that travel distance can serve as an indirect but powerful indicator of economic inclusion and autonomy.