When Women Get Behind the Wheel

Uber unicorn drivers rising in the gig economy. Pink roadies in their trucks and big bikes riding across Pilbara. The spotlight is on women on wheels, as they make their mark on the streets of Australia.

In the racing circuit, the Women of Australian Motorsport are leading the campaign to get more women engaged in motor sports - from drivers and pit crew to engineers and photographers. Even big automobile brands have jumped on the bandwagon. Audi has just started offering a new women-only driving experience. Volvo, on the other hand, is co-creating with Wodonga TAFE and Transport Women Australia Limited a new course aimed at increasing the number of women driving in the trucking industry. (Women of Melbourne, this programme kicks off in in July 2018!)

And who hasn’t heard of Shebah, founded by, of course, a single mum of four? Like many other womentrepeneurs before her, George McEncroe saw an unmet need in the market for a for-women-by-women rideshare service and so, she did what most user entrepreneurs would do: Create an app. Too easy. Launched just last year, Shebah now has 33,000 trips under its waist-cinching power belt, thanks to about 940 active drivers across the country. Best of all, part of every fare paid go to charities that promote women’s advocacies.

Who run the world? More like who drive the world. ‘Nuff said.