Female Grab driver in Singapore proves that a woman can be a good driver
Navigating the icy roads of Denmark for more than a decade has instilled a sense of confidence and calm in 41-year-old Tania Sharif Feldthusen.
The Singaporean now works full-time as a Grab driver-partner ferrying passengers — some of whom have turned friends — across the island.
Driving is practically second nature for Tania who describes it as riding a bike.
“It frees your mind; driving is relaxing for me,” she gushed, and this love for driving has led her to what she calls her “dream job”.
A job that allows her to decide her work hours, support her family, and also be on call to take care of her elderly parents.
In conjunction with International Women’s Day today (8 March), we cast the spotlight on Tania, whose positive spirit and passion for her work — while juggling a caregiver role — sees her thriving despite being in an intense and largely male-dominated environment.
Learning to drive in Denmark
Tania was newly married when she moved from sunny Singapore to Ærø, an island in Denmark with a population of about 6,000 people, in the late 2000s.
“I actually moved there for love,” she said, adding that she had given up a corporate job in Singapore to do so.
Tania had gotten married in Singapore to her Danish husband before they both settled down in Denmark.
There, she ran a waffle house called Café Vaffelhuset which served Asian dishes for lunch, 20 different types of ice cream, Belgian waffles, and pancakes.
“It was a nice setup, very simple, and located in the centre of the island,” shared Tania. “So all the tourists that come during the summertime would visit the cafe.”
As one would expect, there were stark differences between Singapore and her new home.
The weather was colder, for starters, and she soon realised that a driving license was an absolute necessity.
Source: Claire Droppert. Image for illustration purposes only.
Apart from needing the car to run errands, she frequently shuttled between home and the airport for her husband who travelled for work.
“Since we lived at least three and a half hours away from the airport, someone needed to be driving to and fro,” said Tania.
As it turns out, learning to drive was not as straightforward in Denmark.
Tania recalled having to cross the sea to the nearest driving centre in Svendborg, and that was just the start of her troubles.
Not yet used to cars being on the right-hand side of the road, Tania drove on the wrong side during her first test. Unfortunately for her, this led to an immediate failure.
“My driving instructor told me I was the fastest failure he’s ever had,” she joked.
Driving in Singapore ‘is nothing’ after years of experience in Europe
Tania eventually secured her manual license and soon grew to love driving.
From routinely fetching her husband from the airport after he returned from sailing to a 12-hour road trip to Frankfurt for a holiday, she clocked in kilometres of travel on the road.
“I’ve even driven on snowy, icy streets where you need to change your tyres to winter tyres,” shared Tania.
“I’ve done all that, and that’s the reason why I feel driving in Singapore is nothing.”
Image courtesy of Grab Singapore.
Her experience has also taught her to sense and deal with mechanical issues without panicking.
On one of her drives in Denmark, one of her car’s wheels popped off after she had them changed.
Tania had felt that something was wrong but continued on her way following assurances from the mechanic.
“Somehow or rather, I felt like there was an angel around me because my car did not skid,” recalled Tania.
“I could just drive to the side slowly. It was a very busy road with lorries and trucks but no one got hit by the tyre because it went into the ocean.”
After the incident, she returned to the workshop where they confirmed that all four tires had been loose.
Tania noted that the mechanics were apologetic for their oversight and reimbursed her servicing fees.
Finds community in Singapore as a Grab partner
Returning to Singapore after her amicable split with her husband was an easy decision for Tania.
“At the end of the day home is where family is,” added Tania, who moved back to Singapore in 2019.
Photo courtesy of Tania Sharif Feldthusen.
When it came to finding a job, Tania had a decision to make.
Head back to the nine-to-six grind or try something that gives her more flexibility?
She chose the latter, and her decision turned out to be a wise one when her father suffered a stroke.
While putting in the hours as a Grab partner, Tania took on the role of a caregiver and nursed her father through three heart bypass surgeries.
Wearing multiple hats did not dampen her positive spirit, though — Tania is just grateful for the work flexibility that allows her to care for her loved ones.
Stereotypes against female drivers do not affect Grab driver
Being a female driver, Tania is more than aware of the typical trope often bandied about — that women are bad drivers.
This presumption of a woman’s questionable competence behind the wheel is merely that — a stereotype. However, it’s a common refrain most female drivers have to deal with.
“I’m sure there are a lot of people saying that, but it doesn’t affect me,” said Tania. “You just work to the best of your ability.”
Tania is proof that a woman can love driving and that gender does not play a part in the quality of the driver.
“I’ve gotten compliments from both male and female passengers saying: ‘That was one of the smoothest rides I’ve had’,” said Tania.
Ultimately, what matters to her as a Grab driver is that she gets her passengers to their destinations safely.
Indeed, her love for driving and road experience continued to bring her raving reviews.
On one occasion, a female passenger new to Singapore who was worried about getting a fast male driver was reassured by Tania’s presence.
“She got into my car and immediately said: ‘You know, I’m so happy that you’re a female driver’,” recalled Tania.
Despite the high points in her four-year stint as a Grab partner, her journey was not a bed of roses.
“My father had mentioned that driving after midnight, I might get people who are drunk,” she said.
After one such passenger vomited on the side of her car, Tania was at a loss and turned to the Grab drivers’ group chat for help.
The more experienced driver-partners then assured her that Grab would inform the passenger of a cleaning fee.
Thankfully, Tania has not experienced any threats to her safety while on the job.
When asked for what advice she’d give to aspiring female Grab partners, Tania said:
“Go for what you want to do. Don’t think about the stereotypes, if you want to try something, you should do it to the best of your ability.”
New initiatives ‘inspire inclusion’ for female driver-partners at Grab
On Wednesday (6 March), Grab announced the launch of its Women Programme, in line with the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, “Inspire Inclusion”.
The initiative hopes to lower the barriers of entry for women looking to access income opportunities on the Grab platform.
“Our partner community is still very much male dominated, and we recognise that we need to do more to increase women participation on our platform,” said Yee Wee Tang, managing director of Grab Singapore.
The programme aims to empower women to take up platform work by addressing safety concerns and notions that driving is not suitable for them.
Source: Grab
As a part of the programme, Grab is testing a new “Women Passengers Preferred BETA” feature.
The feature, exclusive to women driver-partners, lets them indicate their preference for women passengers.
When toggled on, the feature increases the chances of matching a woman driver-partner with a woman passenger in the vicinity.
Apart from this, the Women Programme will include initiatives such as safety and confidence training sessions and the expansion of the Women Co-pilot Programme.
The Co-pilot programme pairs new women driver-partners with more experienced ones who will share tips on navigating tricky situations while on the road and capturing peak demand.
Having gone through the Grab co-pilot programme and experienced the benefits of it as a mentee, Tania also hopes to mentor new Grab partners one day.
“I would love that,” she said. “Grab is not just a platform where people earn, it’s also where people can connect and network.”
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