We've just had a supermarket delivery to our house. I asked the male delivery driver how many drivers are female in his depot fleet. 'One and there are nineteen male drivers'. I'm sure that this isn't a typical gender split of a large supermarket's workforce.
As a cycling instructor in central London I spend my day working with primary school children in the adult environment of the street, and I can't help but notice that just about every driver I see is a bloke - the taxi driver, the courier driver/motorcyclist/cyclist, the bus driver, the Addison Lee driver, the lorry driver, and the car driver.
This week, cycling my line of ten year olds along a narrow (because of the parked cars) two-way street, I gently gestured with my hand in a please slow down way at an oncoming male driver who had bottomed his car over the speed hump. He didn't slow down or alter his approach and as he slid past the line of kids he shouted 'Fuck Off' at us.
So, this is a request to all the companies recruiting drivers. Please positively discriminate in favour of women, preferably mothers who would like their kids to cycle but don't let them at the moment.
It may turn out it makes not a jot of difference to the road use culture in this country. But it's got to be worth a try.
