South-South Learning Webinar Series · Gender & Electric Mobility

Name: South-South Learning Webinar Series · Gender & Electric Mobility
Start: 2026-07-14

14 July 2026

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South-South Learning Webinar Series · Gender & Electric Mobility

Mainstreaming Gender in E-Mobility: The Big Picture

Webinar 1 of 4 — Driving Change

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is opening a new four-part South-South Learning Webinar Series on Gender and Electric Mobility on 14 July 2026.

The series forms part of E-Mobility as a Driver for Change: Towards a Gender-Transformative and Just Transition to Electric Mobility, funded by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by UNEP.

Running pilots in six countries (Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Vietnam, Indonesia), the project recognizes that the transition to electric mobility is more than a technology shift—it is an opportunity to reshape the sector, ensuring that women are included from the outset rather than inheriting the inequalities of the past.

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Why It Matters

Transport remains one of the most male-dominated sectors of the global economy. Women hold just 16.8% of transport jobs worldwide. This figure has barely shifted since 2010. The gap varies sharply by region: women account for close to 29% of the transport workforce in North America, compared with around 12% in Asia-Pacific and just 10% in Africa. Technical, engineering and leadership roles remain the hardest for women to enter everywhere.

The pattern repeats, and often deepens, in the emerging electric mobility sector: fewer than 5% of EV sector technical and managerial roles worldwide are held by women, and the data needed to understand and close that gap is still scarce.

The case for closing these gaps is not just about fairness - it is also an economic one. The global e-mobility market is projected to top USD 800 billion by 2030, driving demand for workers in manufacturing, charging infrastructure, energy services, digital platforms, maintenance, and public transport. Yet many of these sectors already face labour shortages, while women remain an underused talent pool.

Research shows that gender-diverse organizations perform better financially, innovate more, and make stronger decisions—and closing labour force gaps could boost GDP by an estimated 34% in Latin America alone. From training academies to gender-responsive procurement and last-mile mobility programmes, growing evidence shows that inclusive e-mobility doesn't just work—it builds a more resilient, competitive, and talent-rich transition.

UNEP's E-Mobility as a Driver for Change project is designed to seize that opportunity. Through a four-part framework focused on women as drivers, technicians, entrepreneurs and decision-makers, the project is building institutional and industry capacity across eight countries, helping stakeholders develop the skills, partnerships and practical approaches needed to advance a more gender-inclusive electric mobility transition. This webinar series provides a platform for sharing those lessons and fostering peer learning.

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About the series

This webinar is the first of the South-South Learning Webinar Series on Gender and Electric Mobility, a knowledge-exchange programme developed within the BMZ-funded E-Mobility as a Driver for Change project, implemented by UNEP.

Spanning four sessions from July to November 2026, the series brings together practitioners, policymakers, researchers and civil society representatives from Africa, Asia and Latin America to share evidence, methodologies and practical strategies for making the transition to electric mobility equitable for women.

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Session Objectives

Introduce the BMZ project — six countries, a four-part women's roles framework, and headline baseline findings — to a broad Africa/Asia audience.

Generate comparative insights across institutional and geographic contexts: global policy, city-level planning, operator experience, and project evidence.

Create a shared knowledge base that enables substantive cross-panel dialogue and connects participants across Africa and Asia.

Begin building the South-South learning network that deepens over the consolidated webinar series.

Guiding Questions

Where do women currently stand in the e-mobility transition in Africa and Asia, and what does the evidence tell us about the main challenges and opportunities
How are countries integrating gender into transport and e-mobility policies, and what lessons have emerged from implementation?
What practical actions, partnerships and institutional arrangements have been most effective in moving from policy commitments to measurable results?
Looking ahead, what should governments and development partners prioritize to achieve a truly gender-transformative e-mobility transition?

From Global Policy to the Driver's Seat

UNEP opens the session by setting the shared evidence base: the four-part framework behind its BMZ-funded project, the most striking findings so far from six national baselines, and the case for building a South-South learning network to carry those lessons forward.

The World Bank's Transport Global Practice then brings a global view of what is — and isn't — working: which national policies address gender in transport and e-mobility, which regulatory and financing tools have proven effective, and the economic case for building an inclusive sector from the outset.

C40 Cities brings that lens down to street level, drawing on its work with South African cities to show what electrification looks like from a woman's seat — the municipal decisions that open the door to inclusion, and those that quietly close it.

The clearest proof that change is possible comes from Jakarta. ITDP Indonesia will walk through the TJ Academy, the training programme it built with TransJakarta that turned a gender gap into a lasting institutional commitment — certifying the city's first female e-bus drivers, weaving gender-based-violence prevention into the curriculum and helping lock in a permanent 30% target for female drivers.

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Event Details

📅 Date: 14 July 2026

🕛 Time: 11:00 UTC (see regional times below)

⏱️ Duration: 60 minutes

🎙️ Format: Panel discussion: project framing, three panelist presentations, moderated cross-panel dialogue, and audience Q&A

🌐 Language: English

💻 Platform: Zoom

🎙️ Moderator: UNEP Sustainable Mobility Unit

➡️ Register here