In time for the International Women’s Day on March 8, Friday, Grab Philippines announced the launch of its Women Program under its social upliftment campaign “GrabAsenso”.
The Women Program aims to support women in the country to become driver-partners on its platform. Aside from the Philippines, the program will be rolled out in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia in the first half of 2024.
The Women Program is a key pillar of GrabAsenso, which is a multi-faceted initiative that is geared towards enhancing the lives of Grab driver-, delivery-, and merchant-partners.
Grab has rolled out GrabAsenso to create a tangible impact on livelihood creation, upskilling, and gender equality and inclusivity.
Specific to the Women Program, Grab Philippines aims to lower the barriers for women to gain equitable access to earning opportunities as a Grab driver-partner.
Through initiatives designed to address women’s unique concerns about driving, the Women Program seeks to improve gender equality and enable more women to join and benefit on the Grab platform.
Grab Philippines country head Grace Vera Cruz shares “As a female leader in what many regard as a male-dominated space, I am committed to rallying everyone at Grab, especially all female leaders, to create more opportunities for womankind – lifting more people as we rise as leaders and as a company.
“This ethos is deeply rooted in our philosophy that growth is not just about business and operations; it’s about responsible, inclusive, and empathetic growth. One that brings Filipinos to a world where everyone thrives regardless of background or gender.”
Based on surveys and discussions done with Grab’s existing women driver-partners, it is found that women are usually deterred from joining the platform due to a mindset that driving is not suitable for women, that they have sociocultural roles at home they need to fulfill, and a general lack of confidence.
Common considerations that stop them from taking the first step include the need to manage different types of consumers, having the right digital know-how to use the driver app effectively, or the ability to manage unforeseen situations such as vehicle breakdown.
To support women to overcome these barriers and equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to thrive on the Grab platform, the Women Program for driver-partners will feature tailored training programs and a wide range of community activities to empower women to support one another on this journey:
- Tailored training modules: These training modules will cover topics to address common concerns such as vehicle maintenance and servicing, customer service, defensive driving, Women Protection and Policy, Gender-Fair Languages and Images, Safe Space Act, and basic first aid. Grab Philippines has partnered with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Philippine Commission for Women (PCW), and the the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) on conducting these women-centric trainings. While most of these training modules require hands-on practice, bite-sized e-learning content is also made available via the GrabAcademy on the Grab Driver App – making it easier for driver-partners to access essential know-how on the topics.
- Women driver-partners community: Grab will facilitate the setting up of such communities to enable new and existing women partners to connect, share and support one another. As our partners are usually on-the-road, these communities will have an online presence primarily on Facebook and WhatsApp so they can communicate with one another regularly.
In addition, offline engagement activities will also be organized so they can further engage and strengthen their relationships.
Among the key celebrations with women driver-partners this March is the Babae Ako, Babiyahe Ako event on March 17 where women driver-partners will be recognized on various merits, including passenger ratings, ride completion, and years of ride-hailing experience.
Safety is another common concern raised by women driver-partners. According to Grab’s internal data, while 99.99% of Grab rides are completed without any incidents, women driver-partners are twice as likely to get into a safety incident compared to men driver-partners.
As part of its Women program, Grab is testing a new “Women Passengers Preferred BETA” feature. Available on the Grab driver-app to women driver-partners only from March 08, 2024, the feature enables women partners to indicate their preference for women passengers.
When the feature is toggled on, it increases the chances of matching a woman driver-partner with a woman passenger, if there is a woman passenger in the vicinity.
To raise awareness for the program, Grab has also launched its #WomenWelcome campaign in conjunction with International Women’s Day.
Part of this includes a brand thematic film that acknowledges the invisible hurdles that prevent women from driving for a living, and how Grab is working towards making driving more suitable for women through safety innovation, training, and community support.
