Understanding the Gender Gap in the Acceptance of Automated Vehicles: International Mobility Study Across 17 Countries

Guilhermina Torrao; Esko Lehtonen

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-97663-6_2

Understanding the Gender Gap in the Acceptance of Automated Vehicles: International Mobility Study Across 17 Countries

Guilhermina Torrao^*
, Esko Lehtonen

^*Corresponding author for this work

BA4904 Transport systems and services

Aston University

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference article in proceedings › Scientific › peer-review

Abstract

The common assumption is that men are more likely to accept automated vehicles (AVs) than women. However, studies have produced mixed results regarding this gender gap. Additionally, there is limited understanding of how the gender gap in the intention to use AVs might vary between countries. This study aims to enhance the understanding of the gender gap in willingness to use AVs and how this gap might differ across various countries. To accomplish this, survey data from 18,631 respondents across 17 countries: Brazil, China, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, the UK, and the US, was analyzed. In this research, the gender gap in willingness to use AVs is defined as the difference in willingness to use AVs between men and women. The results indicate that gender differences in willingness to use AVs are not universal; some countries show opposing trends between men and women, while in others, the gender difference is not statistically significant. This study contributes to existing literature by examining the influence of gender and country on the willingness to use AVs. The findings have the potential to significantly impact policy development and transport planning by promoting gender inclusivity in future transport solutions, ensuring that all potential users can benefit from adopting AVs.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2025 Workshops
Subtitle of host publication	Proceedings
Editors	Osvaldo Gervasi, Beniamino Murgante, Chiara Garau, Yeliz Karaca, Maria Noelia Faginas Lago, Francesco Scorza, Ana Cristina Braga
Publisher	Springer
Pages	20-34
Number of pages	15
ISBN (Electronic)	978-3-031-97663-6
ISBN (Print)	978-3-03-197662-9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-97663-6_2
Publication status	Published - 2026
MoE publication type	A4 Article in a conference publication
Event	Workshops of the International Conference on Computational Science and Its Applications, ICCSA 2025 - Istanbul, Turkey Duration: 30 Jun 2025 → 3 Jul 2025

Publication series

Series	Lecture Notes in Computer Science
Volume	15899 LNCS
ISSN	0302-9743

Conference

Conference	Workshops of the International Conference on Computational Science and Its Applications, ICCSA 2025
Country/Territory	Turkey
City	Istanbul
Period	30/06/25 → 3/07/25

Funding

The online survey leading to this study results was funded by the European Commission Horizon 2020 program under the project L3Pilot, grant agreement number 723051. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this publication lies entirely with the authors. The authors would like to thank partners within L3Pilot for their cooperation and valuable contribution.

Keywords

and future transport
Automated vehicles
country
gender gap
willingness to use

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-031-97663-6_2

Cite this

Torrao, G., & Lehtonen, E. (2026). Understanding the Gender Gap in the Acceptance of Automated Vehicles: International Mobility Study Across 17 Countries. In O. Gervasi, B. Murgante, C. Garau, Y. Karaca, M. N. Faginas Lago, F. Scorza, & A. C. Braga (Eds.), Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2025 Workshops: Proceedings (pp. 20-34). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-97663-6_2

Torrao, Guilhermina ; Lehtonen, Esko. / Understanding the Gender Gap in the Acceptance of Automated Vehicles : International Mobility Study Across 17 Countries. Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2025 Workshops: Proceedings. editor / Osvaldo Gervasi ; Beniamino Murgante ; Chiara Garau ; Yeliz Karaca ; Maria Noelia Faginas Lago ; Francesco Scorza ; Ana Cristina Braga. Springer, 2026. pp. 20-34 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Vol. 15899 LNCS).

@inproceedings{8249088206de4069a967931f083f7718,

title = "Understanding the Gender Gap in the Acceptance of Automated Vehicles: International Mobility Study Across 17 Countries",

abstract = "The common assumption is that men are more likely to accept automated vehicles (AVs) than women. However, studies have produced mixed results regarding this gender gap. Additionally, there is limited understanding of how the gender gap in the intention to use AVs might vary between countries. This study aims to enhance the understanding of the gender gap in willingness to use AVs and how this gap might differ across various countries. To accomplish this, survey data from 18,631 respondents across 17 countries: Brazil, China, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, the UK, and the US, was analyzed. In this research, the gender gap in willingness to use AVs is defined as the difference in willingness to use AVs between men and women. The results indicate that gender differences in willingness to use AVs are not universal; some countries show opposing trends between men and women, while in others, the gender difference is not statistically significant. This study contributes to existing literature by examining the influence of gender and country on the willingness to use AVs. The findings have the potential to significantly impact policy development and transport planning by promoting gender inclusivity in future transport solutions, ensuring that all potential users can benefit from adopting AVs.",

keywords = "and future transport, Automated vehicles, country, gender gap, willingness to use",

author = "Guilhermina Torrao and Esko Lehtonen",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.; Workshops of the International Conference on Computational Science and Its Applications, ICCSA 2025 ; Conference date: 30-06-2025 Through 03-07-2025",

year = "2026",

doi = "10.1007/978-3-031-97663-6\_2",

language = "English",

isbn = "978-3-03-197662-9",

series = "Lecture Notes in Computer Science",

publisher = "Springer",

pages = "20--34",

editor = "Osvaldo Gervasi and Beniamino Murgante and Chiara Garau and Yeliz Karaca and \{Faginas Lago\}, \{Maria Noelia\} and Francesco Scorza and Braga, \{Ana Cristina\}",

booktitle = "Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2025 Workshops",

address = "Germany",

}

Torrao, G & Lehtonen, E 2026, Understanding the Gender Gap in the Acceptance of Automated Vehicles: International Mobility Study Across 17 Countries. in O Gervasi, B Murgante, C Garau, Y Karaca, MN Faginas Lago, F Scorza & AC Braga (eds), Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2025 Workshops: Proceedings. Springer, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 15899 LNCS, pp. 20-34, Workshops of the International Conference on Computational Science and Its Applications, ICCSA 2025, Istanbul, Turkey, 30/06/25. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-97663-6_2

Understanding the Gender Gap in the Acceptance of Automated Vehicles: International Mobility Study Across 17 Countries. / Torrao, Guilhermina; Lehtonen, Esko.
Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2025 Workshops: Proceedings. ed. / Osvaldo Gervasi; Beniamino Murgante; Chiara Garau; Yeliz Karaca; Maria Noelia Faginas Lago; Francesco Scorza; Ana Cristina Braga. Springer, 2026. p. 20-34 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Vol. 15899 LNCS).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference article in proceedings › Scientific › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - Understanding the Gender Gap in the Acceptance of Automated Vehicles

T2 - Workshops of the International Conference on Computational Science and Its Applications, ICCSA 2025

AU - Torrao, Guilhermina

AU - Lehtonen, Esko

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.

PY - 2026

Y1 - 2026

N2 - The common assumption is that men are more likely to accept automated vehicles (AVs) than women. However, studies have produced mixed results regarding this gender gap. Additionally, there is limited understanding of how the gender gap in the intention to use AVs might vary between countries. This study aims to enhance the understanding of the gender gap in willingness to use AVs and how this gap might differ across various countries. To accomplish this, survey data from 18,631 respondents across 17 countries: Brazil, China, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, the UK, and the US, was analyzed. In this research, the gender gap in willingness to use AVs is defined as the difference in willingness to use AVs between men and women. The results indicate that gender differences in willingness to use AVs are not universal; some countries show opposing trends between men and women, while in others, the gender difference is not statistically significant. This study contributes to existing literature by examining the influence of gender and country on the willingness to use AVs. The findings have the potential to significantly impact policy development and transport planning by promoting gender inclusivity in future transport solutions, ensuring that all potential users can benefit from adopting AVs.

AB - The common assumption is that men are more likely to accept automated vehicles (AVs) than women. However, studies have produced mixed results regarding this gender gap. Additionally, there is limited understanding of how the gender gap in the intention to use AVs might vary between countries. This study aims to enhance the understanding of the gender gap in willingness to use AVs and how this gap might differ across various countries. To accomplish this, survey data from 18,631 respondents across 17 countries: Brazil, China, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, the UK, and the US, was analyzed. In this research, the gender gap in willingness to use AVs is defined as the difference in willingness to use AVs between men and women. The results indicate that gender differences in willingness to use AVs are not universal; some countries show opposing trends between men and women, while in others, the gender difference is not statistically significant. This study contributes to existing literature by examining the influence of gender and country on the willingness to use AVs. The findings have the potential to significantly impact policy development and transport planning by promoting gender inclusivity in future transport solutions, ensuring that all potential users can benefit from adopting AVs.

KW - and future transport

KW - Automated vehicles

KW - country

KW - gender gap

KW - willingness to use

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105010823063

U2 - 10.1007/978-3-031-97663-6_2

DO - 10.1007/978-3-031-97663-6_2

M3 - Conference article in proceedings

AN - SCOPUS:105010823063

SN - 978-3-03-197662-9

T3 - Lecture Notes in Computer Science

SP - 20

EP - 34

BT - Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2025 Workshops

A2 - Gervasi, Osvaldo

A2 - Murgante, Beniamino

A2 - Garau, Chiara

A2 - Karaca, Yeliz

A2 - Faginas Lago, Maria Noelia

A2 - Scorza, Francesco

A2 - Braga, Ana Cristina

PB - Springer

Y2 - 30 June 2025 through 3 July 2025

ER -

Torrao G, Lehtonen E. Understanding the Gender Gap in the Acceptance of Automated Vehicles: International Mobility Study Across 17 Countries. In Gervasi O, Murgante B, Garau C, Karaca Y, Faginas Lago MN, Scorza F, Braga AC, editors, Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2025 Workshops: Proceedings. Springer. 2026. p. 20-34. (Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Vol. 15899 LNCS). doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-97663-6_2

Understanding the Gender Gap in the Acceptance of Automated Vehicles: International Mobility Study Across 17 Countries

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this