Women’s mobility and human capital: Some insights from Haiti

"In healthcare data suggests that accessibility is the second largest challenge to women seeking treatment, right after lack of financial resources to pay for medical services themselves"

Transport has a key part to play in connecting people to the resources they need in order to reach their full potential. In other words, transport and human capital go hand in hand. Through improved rural connectivity, for example, children in rural areas of Africa can go to school; women in remote locations can have access to adequate prenatal care and are able to deliver their baby in the hospital; youth can reach job opportunities in cities. Adequate transport design and regulation are also essential to tackling road crashes– which kill an estimated 1.25 million individuals every year, 90% of them in developing countries.

While there are many ways to highlight the linkages between transport and human capital, the example of women’s mobility in Haiti is particularly compelling.

Karla Dominguez Gonzalez

Gender Specialist

Karla Dominguez Gonzalez is a gender specialist with experience mainstreaming gender into transport and social protection projects. She has focused on the analysis of the barriers and enabler’s for women’s mobility and accessibility, strategies to address sexual harassment in public transport within urban settings, and gender analysis for rural road projects in Latin America and Africa. She holds a MSc Development Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Certificate on Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. Prior joining the Bank in 2014, she has collaborated with international civil society organizations (ODI, Practical Action, Oxfam) and worked for different agencies of the Mexican government, including the Ministry of Social Development, where, in collaboration with the Mexican Ministry of Women, she was in charge of coordinating the design and implementation of its gender mainstreaming strategy.

Nathalie Picarelli

Economist, World Bank

Nathalie Picarelli is an Economist in the World Bank’s Transport Global Practice. She joined the Bank as a Young Professional in 2017 and is currently working on urban transport projects in Brazil, Colombia and Haiti. Her current research interests include policy incentives to improve accessibility, and competition in transport services and infrastructure. She obtained her PhD from the London School of Economics and holds an MPA from Columbia University.

Malaika Becoulet

Transport Specialist, World Bank

Malaïka Bécoulet is a Transport Specialist in the World Bank’s Transport & Digital Development Global Practice working on rural access, sustainable mobility, and resilience. Malaika began working at the World Bank in 2013 focusing on rural roads and climate resilient infrastructure projects in Haiti. Prior to joining the Bank, she worked for the European Development Fund on capacity building, and before that on risk identification and mitigation in water and sanitation. Malaïka has a Masters in Risk Management from Sciences Po Bordeaux.