Previous research suggests that there might be a gender gap in the acceptance of automated vehicles (AVs): males are typically found to have a higher intention to use AVs than females, although opposite results have been reported in different countries. The conflicting results have yet to be addressed, and only a few studies have attempted to explain the country-level differences based on quantifiable socio-economic indicators.

We investigated the gender gap in the acceptance of AVs (SAE Level 3) using a questionnaire study among 8412 car-drivers in eight European countries as part of the European L3Pilot project. For this study, the gender gap in the acceptance of AVs is defined as the difference in the willingness to use, buy and activate the automated driving function in AVs between men and women. Results showed two distinct realities for Europe: in one group of countries, females were less willing to use AVs than males, while in another group, both males and females had similar acceptance towards AVs with higher ratings overall. These country groups were different in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and the Gender Equality Index (GEI). The gender gap in the acceptance of AVs was larger in countries with a higher GDP and GEI.

The study findings suggest that the gender gap in the acceptance of AVs is not universal, and the countries’ progress in economics and gender equality are related to people's attitudes toward AVs. This finding enhances policy development and planning future transport solutions to ensure that all potential users can benefit from AVs.

先前的研究表明，对自动驾驶汽车（AV）的接受程度可能存在性别差距：通常发现男性比女性更愿意使用自动驾驶汽车，尽管不同国家的报告结果相反。相互矛盾的结果尚未得到解决，只有少数研究试图根据可量化的社会经济指标来解释国家层面的差异。

作为欧洲 L3Pilot 项目的一部分，我们对 8 个欧洲国家的 8412 名汽车驾驶员进行了问卷调查，调查了接受自动驾驶汽车（SAE 3 级）方面的性别差距。在本研究中，自动驾驶汽车接受度的性别差距被定义为男性和女性使用、购买和激活自动驾驶汽车功能的意愿差异。结果显示欧洲存在两个截然不同的现实：在一组国家中，女性比男性更不愿意使用自动驾驶汽车，而在另一组国家中，男性和女性对自动驾驶汽车的接受程度相似，总体评分较高。这些国家组的人均国内生产总值（GDP）和性别平等指数（GEI）有所不同。在 GDP 和 GEI 较高的国家，接受自动驾驶汽车的性别差距更大。

研究结果表明，对自动驾驶汽车的接受程度存在性别差距并不普遍，各国在经济和性别平等方面的进步与人们对自动驾驶汽车的态度有关。这一发现加强了政策制定和规划未来交通解决方案，以确保所有潜在用户都能从自动驾驶汽车中受益。