Increasing female employment in the transportation sector in Pakistan

Pakistan has a particularly low female labor force participation rate. Public transport is often unsafe for women, adding further constraints to female employment opportunities. We collaborate with the largest transportation network company in the region, Careem (a subsidiary of Uber), in a pilot study where we offer female jobseekers a potentially transformative income source, while providing their customers with safe transportation. In this pilot, 50 women will be offered a high-quality auto-rickshaw (with enhanced security features) and membership of Careem's driver program. The cost of the vehicle will be financed with a flexible interest-free loan provided by a large microfinance institution. To measure impacts on female earnings and other household-level outcomes, we will select another 50 women as control (only receiving information about earnings opportunities available through such work), and utilize high-frequency administrative data, phone surveys and qualitative work to explore the potential engagement of women with the transportation sector.