I don’t think I’ve seen one. Most of them are male. What’s going on?

  • snooggums@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    112
    ·
    2 days ago

    Most jobs where a single individual has one or more strangers in close proximity will be staffed by men. Men are perceived as less likely to be victims, and therefore more likely to take those jobs.

    https://truthout.org/articles/women-and-non-binary-rideshare-drivers-face-harassment-and-violence/

    Women make up 20 percent of the drivers for more established companies like Lyft and Uber.

    I’m actually surprised it is that high, thought it would be closer to 10%.

        • Lauchs@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          7
          ·
          2 days ago

          I wonder… I remember reading a scientific article (or looking at a headline in the grocery checkout line, donn’t remember which - Norm Macdonald) that noted that pizza delivery was one of the most dangerous jobs in America.

          Presumably Uber mitigates some of that risk by having more info about their customers?

            • Lauchs@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              5
              ·
              2 days ago

              Really? That seems odd just because there are so mamy jobs that involve driving under time constrains…

              • snooggums@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                5
                ·
                2 days ago

                Smaller cars, generally owned by the driver with a rushed time frame and often staffed by teenagers made it a lot more dangerous back in the 90s. Drivers in large delivery trucks are a lot less likely to die in a wreck than a teenager in a Honda civic.

                • Lauchs@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  2
                  ·
                  2 days ago

                  Fair. Admittedly, teenagers I think are some of the most dangerous drivers around (at least, God knows I was) so I suppose any job that disproportionately hired them…

    • bobs_monkey@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      2 days ago

      I’d imagine it’s a little safer these days for women to drive with cameras and full GPS, but people are nuts so ¯\(ツ)

  • Lauchs@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    52
    ·
    2 days ago

    I don’t know a lot of women clamoring to be in a confined space with however many random guys by themselves…

      • papalonian@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        10
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        2 days ago

        The kind that are able (and often do) accommodate multiple people, including possibly a bunch of guys? I’m not sure what your question is trying to ask, do you think a group of men taking a taxi is a particularly odd thing?

        • Lauchs@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          2 days ago

          I’m equally confused. Maybe it’s the confined bit? But it’s not like having to flee your vehicle is ideal or even always possible. And as far as I know, taxis don’t have ejector seats for the driver OR passengers (thanks Obama.)

  • Mossy Feathers (She/They)@pawb.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    39
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    2 days ago

    I don’t really want to be in an enclosed space like that with a stranger, especially a man. Men can be psychos and it’s not worth the risk.

    Yes, women can be psychos too, but A) women are less likely to feel entitled to another woman’s body, and B) the playing field is more level in terms of strength.

    • Lauchs@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      10
      ·
      2 days ago

      One of those lines that really stuck with me for awhile was True Detective Season 2.

      “The fundamental difference between the sexes is that one of them can kill the other with their bare hands.”

      Never had it laid so bare for me before but on average, that’s probably true which must be fucking terrifying. As a guy I’ve been in a handful of scraps but if I’d weighed 30% less and had a lot less muscle, those would have been really dangerous. (Except for that one kid who punched my jaw so weakly and drunkenly off target that all I could do was howl with laughter.)

      • 200ok@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        2 days ago

        Or imagine if half of the people around you were the size of The Rock by comparison 😳

        • Lauchs@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          edit-2
          2 days ago

          Jesus! At first I thought that was a bit of an oexaggeration (and I think it is a little bit, as how much of his additional weight is muscle etc) but I’m decently muscled and am slightly less than 30% his weight without much body fat.

          Wow. That would be terrifying. I absolutely would not hang out in a lot of the sketchy areas I love.

          Edit: Checked, our height difference and the average height difference for North American men n women is also pretty similar. That’s a wildly, and increasingly appropriate image!

  • Otherbarry@lemmy.zip
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    35
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    2 days ago

    I suspect it’s partly a safety / comfort thing, female drivers don’t necessarily want to be hit on or harassed by every other male passenger they pick up.

    They do exist, I just assume they’re armed in case they pick up some dude that starts acting up… The one woman I personally knew that was an uber driver always had a weapon her on side of the car just in case.

  • Acamon@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    21
    ·
    2 days ago

    In cities I’d agree, but when I lived in a closeknit rural area it was probably majority women. As the rest of the commentors are saying, I think it’s mostly a perceived safety issue for a lot of women. But if you’re likely to know the name, address and family history of everyone who gets into your taxi, it’s less of a concern.

    • atro_city@fedia.ioOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      2 days ago

      What do you mean by “places you have looked at”? I’ve only taken taxis from airports in Europe.

      • elephantium@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        2 days ago

        I thought their meaning was obvious. In the places you’ve paid any attention to the sex of the taxi drivers, any would-be female taxi drivers have been deterred or driven out of the job by too much harassment.

  • flamingo_pinyata@sopuli.xyz
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    14
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    2 days ago

    The choice of profession is not made completely independently. You see what other people are doing - friends, relatives, random people in the street (including all other taxi drivers you’ve ever met). And you choose a place for yourself guided by these preexisting ideas about where you could best fit in.

    Humans tend to repeat the patterns of behavior they see other people do.

    • atro_city@fedia.ioOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      2 days ago

      What do you mean? Are you saying because women don’t see many female taxi drivers that they decide not to become a taxi driver?

      • shikitohno@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        6
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        2 days ago

        Not just that, but you’ll also experience a good deal of social pressure from your friends and family, or future co-workers. Some can be of the patently ridiculous variety, like “Oh, that’s a man’s job, why would you want to try and do that?” but you also get some that can be well-meaning and grounded somewhat in reality, like the potential risk for violence and/or sexual violence that a female cab driver would be perceived as more exposed to. These can be mitigated to an extent, if you find the right niche to go into. For example, I would think the risk for violence would be lower if you were just doing airport runs, or medical transport for the elderly, rather than being the late night driver picking people up from clubs and bars to bring them to their private residences.

        For a job that has an old boy’s club formed, a new, female employee can also often expect to have to deal with regular harassment, whether it’s old-fashioned, paternalistic sexism, or active efforts to drive away women that the men working there view as encroaching on their private domain. I’m not excusing this behavior or saying it’s something women should put up with, but that is the simple reality of many career fields society views as “men’s work,” and knowing this in advance will often discourage women from even trying to get a job in these fields, absent credible signs that the company they’re considering is making substantial and concrete efforts to change this culture and make the work place not be misogynistic, or some other pressing urge (i.e. “I can’t get a job somewhere else where I live that will pay my bills and avoid homelessness and starvation, so I guess I’ll put up with the harassment and misogyny until I can move elsewhere or something better opens up.”) that means they’re willing to overlook it. Rather perversely, the men who see women leave the job in short order due to the men’s behavior, rather than the actual work or work-related conditions, often take it as confirmation that women aren’t cut out for that line of work. Meanwhile, those women who persevere, but don’t take shit from their male coworkers and dare to make them actually face consequences for their own words and actions will frequently be maligned as “bitches” and socially isolated at work.

        It’s hardly surprising women don’t actively seek out to subject themselves to such conditions on a regular basis, absent some external influence that either seeks to ameliorate the hostile environment they face, or else compels them to tolerate it as the least terrible option available.

        • SharkEatingBreakfast@sopuli.xyz
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          edit-2
          1 day ago

          Nah. It’s rape.

          Kept me out of a lot of professions I would have otherwise loved to be into.

          I’m not burdened by “traditional” expectations. I do what I want. But I also have enough life experience to know that putting myself in situations where I could potentially be alone with a man or outnumbered by men who could potentially be assholes lacking in moral fiber will 1000% make me a target.

  • introvertcatto@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    6
    arrow-down
    3
    ·
    2 days ago

    One possibility might be “women can’t drive” reason, not saying I agree with that reason but it might be that some taxi companies hire less female drivers for this reason other reason might be that less women are applying to be taxi drivers compared to male applications. Idk exact reasons just some possibilities. I mean I did see some women as taxi drivers and delivery but yeah it’s mostly men.

  • Call me Lenny/Leni@lemm.eeM
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    2 days ago

    For the same reason you see very few male babysitters. There are implications that come with each gender that don’t mix well with certain occupations.

      • Call me Lenny/Leni@lemm.eeM
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        2 days ago

        Nothing. It’s when we drive taxis in particular when we would fear getting the “weird” customers. Note that, outside of taxis, we make up the majority of carpoolers.