Abstract: This study explores gender differences in space-time constraints and their
impact on women's and men's activity-travel patterns from a time-geographic perspective.
Using a travel diary data set collected in Columbus, Ohio (U.S.), the time-budget and fixity
constraints of three population subgroups are examined. The results reveal that women, regardless of their employment status and commuting distance, experience higher
level of fixity constraint both in absolute and relative terms when compared to men. Although a long commute for
women of high socioeconomic status is usually understood as an indicator of their less constrained job location, the
full-time employed women examined in this study still experience higher level of fixity constraint than men despite
their easy access to the car, high occupational status and long journey-to-work.
The paper concludes that
space-time constraints have a significant impact on women's activity-travel patterns.