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> An analysis of Sweden’s snow clearance practices showed that it disadvantaged women, who were more likely to walk, while employment districts where men predom

> An analysis of Sweden’s snow clearance practices showed that it disadvantaged women, who were more likely to walk, while employment districts where men predominantly worked were more likely to have streets plowed first. > Not only was the impact of snow clearance priorities discriminatory, there were negative consequences for society as a whole. Three times as many people are injured while walking in icy conditions in Sweden than while driving. And the cost of those injuries far exceeds the cost of snow clearance. I fail to see how the analysis somehow found the ostensible gender imbalance of clearing roads before walkways more salient than the fact that icy conditions caused a greater human cost in walking accidents than driving accidents, which is expressed almost as an afterthought. Surely the data about the number of accidents and their gravity was much more available and actionable than a roundabout assumption about men being more likely to work and therefore to drive to work, and women being more likely to be disadvantaged and therefore more likely to walk? Wouldn't it make more sense that the gender imbalance was only noticed after having implemented the measure based on more simple data?

p49k 5y ago
Because the whole point of the article is that a task force dedicated to finding policies that disproportionately affected one gender was the one that discovered the problem. It otherwise may have never been found. The point being that such task forces are beneficial and policy changes addressing such imbalances often end up benefiting everyone.
- germ 5y ago
  Bingo. Men/women, breadwinners/household labour and a few other axis tend to use a city much differently. By collecting the data that force was able to find gaps that were already existing in current structure and underlying assumptions about how it's used. Similar studies have found that most city planning is done around an able bodied cishetero men working typical hours and amenities to outsiders of that group tend to be applied patchwork after the fact which leads to a ton of troubles simply trying to get around. Parents need to get their kids to school and daycare, navigate the environment with strollers and carriers and work around their kids needs. One example was trying to drop off a child at a daycare, a school and then making it to work. A trip that will need many transfers and sometimes doubling back on a route. If you're trudging through 15cm of snow and bus service is dodgy earlier in the day it's going to be a time. If you want to learn more about this in a broader sense check out "Feminist City" by Leslie Kern, it's on audible if a long drive is part of your commute. It wanders a bit, but does a pretty good job surveying how women, gender diverse, disabled and other bodies navigate and cope with the environment. Check it out!

p49k 5y ago

Because the whole point of the article is that a task force dedicated to finding policies that disproportionately affected one gender was the one that discovered the problem. It otherwise may have never been found. The point being that such task forces are beneficial and policy changes addressing such imbalances often end up benefiting everyone.

germ 5y ago
Bingo. Men/women, breadwinners/household labour and a few other axis tend to use a city much differently. By collecting the data that force was able to find gaps that were already existing in current structure and underlying assumptions about how it's used. Similar studies have found that most city planning is done around an able bodied cishetero men working typical hours and amenities to outsiders of that group tend to be applied patchwork after the fact which leads to a ton of troubles simply trying to get around. Parents need to get their kids to school and daycare, navigate the environment with strollers and carriers and work around their kids needs. One example was trying to drop off a child at a daycare, a school and then making it to work. A trip that will need many transfers and sometimes doubling back on a route. If you're trudging through 15cm of snow and bus service is dodgy earlier in the day it's going to be a time. If you want to learn more about this in a broader sense check out "Feminist City" by Leslie Kern, it's on audible if a long drive is part of your commute. It wanders a bit, but does a pretty good job surveying how women, gender diverse, disabled and other bodies navigate and cope with the environment. Check it out!