Driving Change: Boosting Women in Nepal’s Transport Sector with World Bank Support

In Nepal’s roads, highways and transport networks, one of the most noticeable gaps has been gender: few women work in transport, engineering or maintenance roles; women’s needs as users are often overlooked. But change is underway thanks in part to strategic interventions by the World Bank and partner institutions.

The Gender Gap in Nepal’s Transport Sector

Data highlight the scale of the challenge: nationally, women account for only around 3.5 % of employment in the transport, storage and communications sector. World Bank+1 Within road construction and maintenance too, women’s participation remains very low, often limited to informal or support roles. Globe Banner+2World Bank+2
Other barriers include:

• Gender norms and expectations about which jobs are “suitable” for women (e.g., heavy machinery, remote work sites) World Bank
  
• Workplace and site conditions that are not gender-sensitive (e.g., separate toilets, travel/stay arrangements) World Bank+1
  
• Lack of training, skills development, and organisational support for women in technical and engineering roles. World Bank+1
  

How the World Bank is Intervening

The World Bank’s approach in Nepal centres on combining infrastructure investment with gender-inclusion measures, capacity building and institutional change. Key examples:

• Under the Strategic Road Connectivity and Trade Improvement Project (SRCTIP), funded by the Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), efforts are underway to train women in construction-related skills (e.g., plumbing, scaffolding) and support their employment in road works. World Bank
  
• The Accelerating Transport and Trade Connectivity in Eastern South Asia (ACCESS) Project in Nepal (World Bank financed) incorporates explicit measures to support women entrepreneurs and traders along highway corridors, build safe market hubs and improve access to economic opportunities. World Bank+1
  
• Broadly, globally the Bank’s transport programme reports that for FY2019-24, 94 % of transport projects approved include activities to reduce gender gaps helping women as users, workers and stakeholders. World Bank
  

Real-Life Impact: Women on the Road

The results are emerging:

• In rural road maintenance projects in Nepal, groups of women from marginalised communities have been hired as Road Maintenance Group (RMG) workers. The work gives them income, skills and local agency. World Bank
  
• On the Nagdhunga-Naubise-Mugling corridor, women masons, labourers and traffic-flow workers are participating in what had been a male-dominated site  supported by equal pay policies and site interventions. World Bank
  These stories matter: they show how inclusion is more than a checkbox  it involves transforming systems, practices and mindsets.
  

Challenges and Things to Watch

Despite progress, several challenges remain:

• Even when women are hired, their representation in engineering, decision-making, and higher-skilled roles remains minimal. World Bank+1
  
• Ensuring site-conditions are gender-sensitive (travel, accommodation, safety) remains complex particularly in remote and high-altitude locations. World Bank
  
• Sustaining momentum: training is important, but careers and progression pathways matter too if women are to stay and grow in the sector.
  
• Culture & norms: changing how society views women in “non-traditional” roles is slow and requires long-term support.
  

Why This Matters for Nepal

• Inclusive growth: Transport infrastructure affects lives, livelihoods and opportunities. When women are included as users and workers the benefits of connectivity become more equitable.
  
• Resilience and sustainability: Diverse teams bring better perspectives. Women engaged in transport planning, construction and maintenance contribute to more resilient infrastructure systems.
  
• Role modelling: By visibly including women in transport, Nepal sends a message to younger generations: that these roles are open and achievable.
  

Looking Ahead: What’s Next

• Expand training and recruitment of women into technical roles (engineering, planning) rather than only labour roles.
  
• Strengthen monitoring and data-collection to track how many women are entering, retaining and advancing in the transport sector.
  
• Improve workplace conditions on transport projects (accommodation, safety, childcare, travel).
  
• Promote entrepreneurship for women in transport-adjacent sectors (logistics, service hubs, market areas along highways).
  
• Embed gender-sensitive user-design in transport infrastructure (e.g., safe waiting areas, separate toilets, lighting, accessibility) so that women’s mobility improves.
  

The journey to gender-equitable participation in Nepal’s transport sector is still long, but the foundations are being laid. With partners like the World Bank stepping up investment and inclusion efforts, Nepal has the opportunity to lead in making transport not just a means of movement but a catalyst for women’s empowerment and inclusive growth.