Driving Change: How ride-hailing services empower women in Latin America

Ride-hailing services are reshaping the way women move, work, and participate in society across Latin America. Having grown up in a large city myself, I know firsthand how much access to safe, reliable transportation can influence a woman’s freedom and daily life.

Our research, conducted in partnership with Uber, focused on large cities in Mexico and Brazil. Like our earlier work done in Asia, we found that these platforms are not just a modern convenience—they are building pathways to greater independence, economic opportunity, and safety for women across the region.

Safety and Employment: Key Drivers of Impact

In metropolitan areas like São Paulo, Mexico City, and many other cities around the world—including the one I live in now—traditional public transportation can be a challenge, with safety being one of the primary concerns preventing women from traveling around with ease.

For this program, we surveyed thousands of frequent ride-hailers and found that nearly three-quarters of women respondents prioritize safety features and standards when deciding to use these services. Respondents value the safety features offered by ride-hailing platforms, such as trip-sharing, driver information transparency, and in-app emergency assistance.

Ride-hailing services also help remove barriers to employment in places where long commutes and inflexible public transport schedules can limit job options. We found that over half of employed women in Mexico and Brazil agree that ride-hailing has increased their access to better jobs that align with their skills and aspirations.

Close analysis by our economists shows the impact on local economies is significant today and is projected to help hundreds of thousands more women in Brazil and Mexico join the workforce in the next four years.

Real Stories, Real Change

While the statistical evidence is powerful, I find the positive impact of ride-hailing services is best illustrated through personal stories elicited in a series of in-depth interviews conducted for the study. For Paty, a customer service representative in Mexico and mother of two, ride-hailing services are a part of a daily routine, especially for her early morning commutes. These trips used to be long, unpredictable, and—during early morning hours—often felt unsafe; now features like sharable trip details let her travel with confidence before dawn. Ride-hailing also saves her a significant amount of time and builds her independence to balance work and family responsibilities. “I think of it as having my own car,” she says.

The personal stories and hard data paint the same picture: ride-hailing isn’t just about getting from point A to point B—it’s about bridging gaps, unlocking potential, and accelerating change for women throughout Latin America.  

About the research: In partnership with Uber, Oxford Economics conducted an online survey of 7,000 frequent users of ride-hailing services in three major cities in Mexico—Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey—and Brazil—São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte—to understand their ride-hailing behaviors. The survey was fielded in Spanish and Portuguese in December 2024 and January 2025.