Grab introduces Women Programme for driver-partners

The programme was created to lower the barriers for women to gain equitable access to earning opportunities as a Grab driver-partner, in line with Grab’s mission to drive Southeast Asia forward by creating economic empowerment for everyone.

Through initiatives designed to address women’s unique concerns about driving, the Women Programme seeks to improve gender equality and enable more women to join and benefit from the Grab platform.

“Grab is focused on uplifting Vietnamese communities and unlocking the region’s potential, and women are central to this ambition. They make for slightly over half the population in Southeast Asia, yet they represent only 42 per cent of the workforce and form the minority in our community of driver- and delivery partners,” said Alejandro Osorio, managing director of Grab Vietnam.

“Our business model offers everyone flexible work options that can help provide earnings while juggling other interest areas or responsibilities. In Vietnam, the number of women driver-partners on the Grab platform increased by more than 49 per cent between January 2023 and January 2024. However, women still face challenges that deter them from capturing these opportunities. Our goal with the Women Programme is to rally around our current and future women drivers to ensure that they feel supported and confident enough to earn on Grab’s platform,” Osorio added.

To support women to overcome barriers and equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to thrive on the Grab platform, the Grab Women Programme for driver-partners will feature tailored training programmes and a wide range of community activities to empower women to support one another on this journey.

The tailored training modules will cover topics to address common concerns such as vehicle maintenance and self-defence. Most of these training modules are designed to be readily available online via the Grab driver-app and in bite-sized formats so that it’s easier for new women driver-partners to access them. The training modules are expected to be launched in Vietnam soon.

Grab will also facilitate the setting up of such communities to enable new and existing women partners to connect, share and support one another.

As driver partners are usually on-the-road, these communities will have an online presence via Facebook and Zalo platforms, so they can communicate with one another regularly.

In addition, offline engagement activities will also be organised so they can further engage and strengthen their relationships. On International Women's Day on March 8, Grab Vietnam will organise a series of engagement activities for women driver- and merchant-partners nationwide such as the event "Sending thousands of love, giving extraordinary roses" and the photo contest "Women at Grab - We can!"

Grab will also give more than 300 PTI health insurance packages to women driver-partners in difficult circumstances, and to partners who have had top performance records.

Safety is another common concern raised by women driver-partners. As part of its Women Programme, Grab is testing a new “Women Passengers Preferred BETA'' feature. Available on the Grab driver-app to women driver-partners only from March 5, the feature enables women partners to indicate their preference for women passengers.

When the feature is toggled on, it increases the chances of matching a woman driver-partner with a woman passenger, if there is a woman passenger in the vicinity.

To raise awareness for the programme, Grab has also launched its #WomenWelcome campaign with International Women’s Day.

Part of this includes a brand thematic film that acknowledges the invisible hurdles that prevent women from driving for a living, and how Grab is working towards making driving more suitable for women through safety innovation, training, and community support.

Grab’s Women Programme will be rolled out in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia in the first half of 2024.

Grab proposes simplified administrative procedures for ridesharing Grab proposes Vietnam to remove administrative procedures that are hindering the sharing economy, as well as promote the development of electric vehicles.

Delivery apps help Vietnamese consumers discover new restaurants and shops 91 per cent of Vietnamese respondents have used the Grab app to discover new restaurants and shops that they have never tried before, according to Grab’s latest Food & Grocery Trends 2023 report.

Grab Vietnam makes positive contribution in 2023 Grab Vietnam continues to reaffirm its long-term commitment to the Vietnamese market and to make positive contributions to the overall socioeconomic development of the country.