Fariba Siddiq is leveraging her cross-cultural knowledge to study gender differences in ride-hailing.

Siddiq, who was born and raised in Bangladesh, is researching ride-hailing experiences across genders in two cities: Los Angeles and Dhaka, Bangladesh. In her study, she’ll explore how ride-hailing impacts mobility and access to opportunities for women in both countries — before and after COVID-19.

“As mobility decreases for many during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s critical to analyze how changes in travel behaviors have impacted the most vulnerable, particularly women,” said Siddiq, who is currently pursuing a doctorate in urban planning from UCLA.

“Notably, I’m interested in learning how the introduction of ride-hailing in multiple cultural contexts has had an effect on access for women,” she said.

In recognition of this work, the Volvo Research and Educational Foundations recently honored Siddiq with the Lee Schipper Scholarship Award. Siddiq was one of three international PhD candidates who study transportation to receive the prestigious recognition.

The Lee Schipper Memorial Scholarship for Sustainable Transport and Energy Efficiency seeks to recognize students every year who continue Lee Schipper’s policy work in sustainable transportation and energy efficiency. Schipper served as an international physicist, researcher, musician, and co-founder of EMBARQ, known today as the Urban Mobility program of the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.

“I’m grateful to the Volvo Research Foundation and the Schipper family for recognizing the importance of this issue and its urgency during the current global pandemic,” Siddiq said.

Siddiq and the other honorees will present their work at the Transforming Transportation conference to be held remotely in February 2021.