International Women’s Day at the Wheel, an initiative promoted by WWCOTY, celebrates the end of driving bans for women around the world.
The Women’s World Car of the Year conducted its first global survey to discover habits and emotions in a car. According to data collected by WWCOTY in the five continents, 43% of women receive instructions and comments from their partner when they are behind the wheel. The percentage rises to 58% when Latin American users respond, while it drops to 41.17% in countries such as Croatia and 28.57% in the Czech Republic. In the case of male drivers, the percentage is 52.94% globally, although they recognize that 86.27% of them are the one who sits behind the wheel when it comes to family travel. The percentage is close to 100% in Italy and drops to 42% in the United Kingdom and 25% in Germany.
Traveling with a partner in the passenger seat is a source of discomfort for 14.47% of women and 11.76% of men. On a national level, the figure for Spain stands out, where 21.4% of the women interviewed feel insecure at the wheel when driving with their partner; in Belgium the percentage is 16.27%; in the United States it is 15% and in Portugal 12.5%.
The perception of freedom and independence that the automobile offers is practically unanimous all over the world. This is the opinion of 92.16% of men and 94.89% of women in the global survey conducted by Women’s World Car of the Year.
For women at the wheel, the car is in most cases more than just a means of transportation. It offers access to a world full of possibilities, experiences and personal development. This world opened completely on June 24, 2018, when the driving ban for women was lifted in Saudi Arabia, the last country where it was not allowed. Thus one of the gods fell
large walls that still had to be torn down in the automotive world. Women have gained mobility, personal freedom and a passion for cars. They became more visible and made society aware of the potential of over 50% of the population.
Today, women influence over 80% of car purchases in advanced countries. This trend will continue or grow in the coming years, as “the percentage of young university students is increasing in developed areas. Wage equality is beginning to become an achievable goal, Boards of Directors are no longer exclusively male and in the lists of the richest people in the world. world is not uncommon to see more and more names of women “, says Marta García, Executive President of WWCOTY. A future of sustainable mobility and equality would not be possible without the contribution of women “.