What employee safety precautions does your mobility program have in place?

According to a 2018 AIG Travel and Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) online survey, 71% of female business travelers believe they face greater risks than their male counterparts and 83% of women said that in the past year they experienced a safety-related concern or incident. While business travel has gotten safer and easier over the years for female travelers, there is no question that safety is (and should be) a major concern and area of consideration for companies. A recent article in The Guardian, presented new research that has found reports of sexual harassment on the London underground have soared by 42% in the last four years.

According to an AIG report, "Women travelers are generally confident in their organization’s risk management programs, as 83 percent believe their organization cares about their safety on business trips, and 87 percent report they feel comfortable expressing their safety concerns to their travel buyers. However, they feel more can be done for female business travelers."

Women traveling alone should take some special precautions to protect themselves. Consider these 25 Safety Tips for Women Business Travelers from Small Business Trends.

When it comes to additional safety resources, there were a few that survey respondents felt were critical:

1. 80% believed an emergency contact or hotline within the organization is ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ important
2. 76% felt safety accommodations such as chauffeured transportation and security escorts are important to have
3. 74% believes it is important to have training on gendered issues such as sexual assault and kidnapping
4. 67% would like the option to speak with another woman when expressing safety concerns

Besides this article, Where are the world's most dangerous transit systems for women? there are many additional resources available to help you and your traveling employees remain aware of on-the-ground travel and safety options when traveling to a specific destination for work. Our International Destination Guides offer those relocating or heading off on an expatriate assignment an overview on a wide array of specific information from safety to doing business to transportation and driving for cities and countries across the globe.

Drum Cussac suggests female travelers should take extra precautions on their trips by putting together an emergency carry bag.  See what should go inside here.

Additionally, try a few of these articles as it relates to getting educated on navigating transportation systems around the world:

The World’s Worst Transport Systems for Women

Countries with the Most Dangerous Public Transportation

Which city is the worst for sexual harassment on public transport?