ABSTRACT
Bengaluru, Karnataka has one of the highest rates of women bus conductors in India. Although these women wear the same khaki uniforms as their male colleagues, their presence and work on the public buses is far less innocuous. Subject to subtle and overt challenges stemming from sociocultural gender norms that impact upon women’s employment opportunities and experiences in public, the woman bus conductor represents one of many gendered urban experiences. This chapter presents qualitative research that locates the micro-politics of how, when, and why gender is embodied through the work of being a woman conductor on public transport. Contrary to typical narratives of gender-based harassment and security concerns in public, women bus conductors develop a confidence and agency that gives them a level of command over this particular public place/space. Based on the findings from this case study, I put forward an argument for greater opportunities for human interaction and negotiation as a smart solution to improving women’s mobility in multiple ways.
