Campaign to open up cabbie sector

The cabbie industry is male dominated

Women and ethnic minority communities are being encouraged to pursue careers as taxi drivers.

A project to boost gender and ethnic diversity in the taxi trade has been launched by the mayor of London.

Language and numeracy support and childcare provision for those taking the Knowledge exam are among the new services being offered.

Only 5% of London's black cab drivers are from ethnic minority communities, and 1.6% are women.

'Male dominated'

Launching the programme with the London Development Agency, Mayor Ken Livingstone said the black cab was a London "trademark".

He said: "This project will help address the barriers to employment that currently exist for women and people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to participate in this important part of our city's life."

Vivienne Hayes, of the Women's Resource Centre, welcomed the initiative to promote women's employment in a "predominantly male arena".

"Women in London will no doubt be pleased to see an increase in female taxi drivers," she said.

The Knowledge, introduced in 1865, involves remembering every street within six miles of Charing Cross and takes up to three years to attain.