[00:05.0]
A gender impact assessment is a really important part of the business case process for us. It allows us to put a gender-based
lens across everything that we're asking for funding for,
and make sure that we are not overly disadvantaging any part of the community, particularly from a gender-based lens.
[00:24.6]
Hi, my name is Naomi Langdon. I'm the director of Roads, Tram
and Active Transport Planning within the Department
of Transport and Planning. We sit in the modal planning area
that looks after strategic long term planning and short term planning
for all of the different transport modes.
[00:43.6]
Us as planners, we need to be able to take
all of the information that we can about people who might not have the same
lived experience as us, as planners so doing a gender impact
assessment really makes us step back, think about the different types
of users of the network.
[00:59.9]
My name is Graz Starc. I'm Manager of Project Development
and I work in the Department of Transport and Planning. The first step in undertaking a gender impact assessment is to use the tools available. The Commission has fantastic resources.
[01:17.1]
See how relevant
they are to your project or program, and see how they can further strengthen
the gender impact assessment process. The two main items
within the business case that year that we did the gender impact
assessment on were tram stops, so level access
tram stops and tram driver facilities.
[01:38.3]
At the moment, there's not always toilets at every tram
terminus at the end of every line. What we find is that sometimes
the operator, Yarra Trams, has an arrangement with a local shop owner or a local church etc. so the driver would have to leave
the tram, leave the tram stop often go down what is quite a sort of dark alleyway, etc.
[02:01.0]
to access a toilet and when it came to a gender-based lens,
it meant that a lot of female tram drivers weren't taking shifts late at night,
and a lot of these late night shifts and overtime shifts
were more lucrative in terms of pay. So the actual lack of safe driver
toilets was causing a gender pay gap amongst female tram drivers.
[02:20.4]
Having the tram driver toilets
right there on the tram platform or right next to the tram
platform, means that drivers can use them within view of the tram
so they feel safer, it's more efficient for the tram network,
and it also means that the driver facilities can be cleaned
and made really safe for tram drivers to use on a regular basis.
[02:41.6]
So what we found from doing the gender impact assessment and looking at a lot of the gender
based research that is out there, is that some of the aspects
of the actual design of tram stops are really important and can have a real difference in terms of how people from different genders
can view their safety and security on the tram stop.
[02:59.8]
So for example, when we delivered
the Latrobe Street tram stops, the lighting levels and the
the type of lighting was really important. Having softer but still bright lighting that is more diffused really helps
to improve people's perceptions of safety.
[03:15.2]
The new tram stops have more shelter
and they have more seating on them, so that allows people to wait safely
for the tram not to feel too isolated, to be sheltered from weather
and for people to feel safe and visible on the tram stops. I'd say to people who are starting to take
on a gender impact assessment for the first time,
don't treat it just like a tick box.
[03:38.2]
It's really important. You can learn a lot
from doing a gender impact assessment that can really help
not just part of your business case, but really it might uncover benefits
or problems that you're solving that you might not have thought about. It makes you look specifically at gender,
whereas in the past that wouldn't have been a consideration
at all.
[03:56.6]
It's exciting to be able to do that
and have that evidence base and build on it and look back and say,
yep, we did make a difference. And here’s the data to prove how.
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