Licentiatavhandling Göteborg : Göteborgs universitet. Kulturgeografi, 2009

Equal access to work is a central dimension of welfare and the starting point for this study. From a geographical point of view this highlights issues of gender-related differences in distance and travel between home and work. Also, in Swedish regional planning and policy, the key concept of regional enlargement (i.e. geographically extended labor markets and associated longer commuting distances) is an explicit goal in order to stimulate economic growth and improve the matching of labor supply and demand. Since there has been no research conducted on changes over time with regard to similarities and differences of gender and work trips, the present study analyzes the Swedish case. The urban regions of Malmö and Göteborg are further analyzed, since they demonstrate both large (Göteborg) and small (Malmö) gender differences in commuting distance. The overriding aim of the research project is thus to improve current knowledge about work trips among women and men, such as changes over time, as well as how certain factors (e.g., income, education, family situation) interact with gender differences in commuting distance. Focus is set on a deeper knowledge of women's and men's commuting due to the relevance of conditions related to work and labor market equality between the sexes, as well as the fact that the average commuting distance of women historically is shorter than that of men (measured in distance). Swedish national travel survey data (Riks RVU 94/95 and RES 05/06) covering the periods 1994/95 and 2005/06 are used for the empirical analysis. Alternative URL: http://bit.ly/Yg5GJc