With a 50.8 to 49.2 female to male ratio, it seems long overdue that trucking companies are increasing their efforts to recruit women drivers.
The trucking sector struggles to bring in new blood and meet the rising new for qualified CDL-holders. The conventional thinking has been to target young men largely because the industry seemed to culturally lend itself to males. Spending extended periods away from home played into the model of men earning wages as women raised children. While many families embrace these traditional roles, career women have broken down barriers across the board. Freight outfits are also discovering that women whose children have grown are ready for the occupational and financial freedom of the open road.
For example, a 50-year-old trucker out of Philly transitioned from driving local vehicles to the OTR freight-hauling sector after her daughters grew up. Using a program that backed the cost of tuition, Clarise King-Green finally earned the opportunity to make higher wages behind the wheel of a big rig.
“People that know me well say driving is in my blood, so it wasn’t intimidating. It was exciting, really,” King-Green reportedly said. “I was just trying to find a career where I felt like I can make a lot of money to help take care of my kids. I’ve never really given too much thought to whether it’s a woman’s job.
Her enthusiasm and that of other women shattering the stereotype that trucking is a male-only occupation is not lost on employers. The number of female CDL professionals jumped up by a reported 30 percent since 2018. Recent data indicates the number of women truck drivers swelled from 4.6 percent of the workforce in 2010 to approximately 10 percent in 2021. Ongoing efforts by companies to attract female drivers are likely to continue the hiring trend. For example, Yellow Corp president Darrel Harris plans to leverage his position in the industry to recruit underrepresented minority women.
“This is the type of business where people come from a lot of different backgrounds. I intend to use my platform as best I can to help others and help the company,” Harris reportedly said. “We have an opportunity here at Yellow to lead the way both in diversity and inclusion efforts and improving our position from a labor perspective. We are going to seek and hire from underserved communities in key cities where we can make the most impact.”
Efforts to make inroads with women to enter the trucking industry enjoy more support than ever before. Organizations such as the FMCSA, Real Women in Trucking, and the Women in Trucking Association have emerged as valuable resources. Women in Trucking recently joined forces with LeadHERalliance Mentoring to promote entry-level opportunities. Women interested in making a good living driver heavy-duty vehicles are well-positioned to take advantage of job openings and employers ready to move beyond outdated gender bias.
Sources: truckinginfo.com, ttnews.com
Leave a Comment