Women in Trucking Careers Have Doubled – What Now?
Women are entering the trucking industry in droves. In fact, female representation in the driver workforce has nearly doubled, rising from 7.9% to 14% in just four years, according to Women In Trucking (WIT).
This is why TransForce, UPS, and Kellylynn McLaughlin, OTR driver at Clean Harbors and Women of Trucking Advisory Board Member at FMCSA, joined forces to bring you an insightful webinar on how market leaders are helping women drivers break barriers all while achieving success in attracting and retaining this growing workforce.
Key Learnings from the Webinar
The shift in the demographic workforce represents a significant opportunity for trucking companies.
Amidst the shortage of available drivers, fierce competition, and the aging driver population, female representation has accelerated, creating an opportunity for carriers to turn to more women drivers as a way to alleviate our largest and most recurring challenges.
Companies must adapt their strategies to alleviate the common barriers women truck drivers face.
It's not just on the job, women truck drivers face barriers at every turn of their professional journey. It's present in CDL schools, marketing & advertisement, onboarding, and employment.
During the webinar, Professional OTR Driver and Board Advisor to the FMCSA Woman of Trucking, Kellylynn McLaughlin shared her perspective on the topic as a female driver in the industry, offering her advice to companies who want to create a more inclusive workplace and to those who want to become activists to drive change in their community.
Find success in developing customized programs to retain your female workforce.
Tailored initiatives to create a supportive culture and retain your female workforce help companies gain a competitive edge in the industry.
Katie Johnson, National Transportation Manager at UPS Mail Innovations, showed us how UPS creates an environment for success through their Business Resource Groups (BRG), specifically, their Women's Leadership Development BRG, whose mission is to retain and accelerate UPSers in logistics with an emphasis on women, by supporting personal growth, professional development, and connections inside and outside of UPS.
Optimize your recruitment tactics to attract more women drivers.
As we've seen time and time again, traditional recruitment tactics tend to bring more men into the trucking industry, but if we're striving to create an inclusive environment that encourages women to pursue opportunities in trucking and other transportation roles, companies need to optimize their tactics to appeal more to this group.
Companies should be asking themselves:
- What are women looking for when seeking a job?
- What are the top concerns for women truck drivers?
- What can we do to better accommodate women?
In 2022, TransForce partnered with Women In Trucking to research the needs and wants of women truck drivers to help companies to unlock success in recruiting and retaining more female talent.
A look inside the webinar:
Overcoming Barriers & Bias: Perspectives from a Professional Driver
Watch the Full Webinar On-Demand
Learn more
Are you ready to tap into a diverse pool of drivers for your business? TransForce offers a variety of CDL Driver Solutions for any of your business needs.
