There’s a shift taking place at carriers’ human resources offices that recalls Rosie the Riveter — the iconic, flexing factory worker popularized through a U.S. government media blitz during World War II when the defense industry sought to recruit women to build planes, munitions and so much more as millions of American men left to join the fight overseas.
Now, as the trucking industry continues to deal with historic congestion at the ports along with employee shortages from drivers to warehouse and office workers, Women in Trucking, a non-profit group that supports female employment in the trucking industry, is seeing more carriers and other industry players reaching out to women to help take on an unprecedented freight surge — though that approach, according to Women in Trucking (WIT) President and founder Ellen Voie, has been a longtime coming.
“What I find interesting is all of a sudden diversity and inclusion, they're the buzzwords. It's like, 'Hey, we've been working on this for over 14 years. Welcome to our world,’” Voie said with a laugh.
Women are a key piece to President Joe Biden's Trucking Action Plan. Announced last month, the plan is a sliver of the administration's overall multi-pronged Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force that seeks to attract more potential employees into the trucking industry.
In an industry that remains largely dominated by men and has historically been marketed to men, Voie remains energized, shrewdly aware of the industry’s challenges and with her sense of humor intact as she and others at WIT, according to the non-profit’s website, seek to “represent women who design the trucks, own the trucks, sell the trucks, fix the trucks and the drive the trucks.”
As their membership roster grows, WIT is also campaigning for increased gender diversity in the C-suite, as well as other positions in transportation and logistics. But it’s the driver shortage that remains one of their top priorities.
“Women still only make up 10% of over the road drivers, so there's a huge opportunity to tap into this market,” Voie said. “But there's two things that we have to do. First of all, we have to tell women they can do this job. And secondly, we have to make sure that everyone understands that it's not your grandpa's trucking industry.”
