Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2021 to Question 165645, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the low number of female train drivers.
As outlined in my answer to question 165645 we have included requirements for train operating companies within the Emergency Recovery Measure Agreements to provide the Department with diversity data across a range of characteristics, including gender comparisons.
The Department is committed to ensuring that the transport workforce better reflects our diverse society.
The government intends to publish a White Paper with details of its plans for rail reform, including its consideration of diversity within the rail workforce, when the course of the pandemic becomes clearer.