Will 2016 Be the Year of Women in Trucking?

While trucking careers have been male-dominated in the past, many women are finding success in the transportation industry. With the driver shortage becoming acute, this might well become the year of women in trucking.

Advantages for Women in Trucking Industry Roles

MSN.com recently published an article asking whether women are “the next big thing” in trucking. Pointing to several trucking companies that are ramping up efforts to recruit more women drivers as well as modifications to big rigs themselves that make them easier to drive and ergonomically designed to better-accommodate body types of all sizes, the article points out that the time is ripe for women considering careers in trucking. Here are a few more key points from the article:

• The trucking industry has no glass ceiling; women drivers make just as much as men because they are paid by the load, mile, or some other objective measure
• Female drivers from one company cited in the article had a 25% lower accident cost than male counterparts, making them potentially more attractive to carriers
• Women are sometimes better with customers, paperwork and pay more attention to detail

Resources for Women in Trucking

WIT also hosts an annual conference for women in trucking and they offer scholarships for women (and men) in the trucking industry to pursue education in the area of safety, truck driving, leadership or as a technician.

Trucking companies even devote web space to attracting female drivers; like this article featured on schneiderjobs.com. The article, titled, “What It’s Like to be a Woman Truck Driver,” offers a first-hand perspective about being a woman in trucking from a woman who is a Team driver, along with her husband. At the end of the article there is a link a page with featured drivers that includes stories about at least a dozen other women in trucking as well. Likewise, this article on northdixietruck.com offers advice to women who want to begin a career in truck driving.

Are Women the Answer to the Truck Driver Shortage?

The ATA (American Trucking Association) estimates that there is a current shortage of 50,000 truck drivers in the U.S. alone. This number is up from a 30,000 driver shortage just two years ago and some projections say that it will be as high as 175,000 within a decade.

Carriers that successfully attract women drivers to their ranks may well find that they have an advantage over competitors who do not target this potential candidate pool.  Some of the tactics carriers can use to attract female drivers include:

• Trucks with modifications that make them easier to drive and suitable for drivers that might be smaller in stature
• Higher salaries needed to fill the ranks of professional drivers
• Policies that address the concerns of women who want more time at home
• Flexible options for women who want a good work-life balance
• Health and wellness benefits and considerations that speak to the unique needs of women

Rich History of Women in Trucking and Transportation

Trucking and transportation may have been a male-dominated industry, but that is not to say that women have not played a significant part in its history and development. From the women who helped drive their families across the U.S. to populate western states and territories to Mary Fields, a.k.a. “Stagecoach Mary,” who joined the U.S. Postal Service when she was 60 years old.

Stagecoach Mary, an African-American born into slavery in 1832 and freed in 1865 with the ratification of the 13^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was just the second woman hired by the postal service. She drove a team of six horses and a mule named “Moses” on a daily basis.

Luella Bates is believed to be the first woman truck driver of the modern era, obtaining her trucking license in New York after attending the 1920 New York Auto Show. Bates and several other women had already stepped forward to fill the ranks of truck drivers in place of their husbands when they were away fighting in WWI. She worked for the Four Wheel Drive Auto Company from 1918-1922 and test drove Model B trucks, operated dump trucks and completed three transcontinental truck driving trips during her career.

Even Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II – the current reigning monarch – did her part as a woman in trucking! During WWII she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service and learned how to fix truck engines and drive trucks in the British Army.

According to thetruckersreport.com, not only is the percentage of women drivers as compared to male drivers disproportionately small, the number of women-owned trucking companies is also very small. All that could easily change if this year becomes the year of women in trucking!

***

We offer freight factoring services with low factoring rates and high advances to women in trucking, so they can grow their transportation businesses more quickly. . We offer prompt, professional customer service and a truck factoring program that will keep you in the driver’s seat, with tailored benefits that might include:

• No long term contracts
• No monthly minimums – factor only when you choose
• No hidden fees, no cost to apply and no due diligence fees
• Low factoring rates from 1%
• High advances and free same / next day funding
• Free credit checks on your customers
• Free enrollment in TruckersB2B for fuel discounts and savings on tires, oils and other trucking industry expenses
• Access to fleet fuel card programs so you can fund drivers on the road and better control and manage expenses

Request a free, no-obligation freight factoring proposal – you could go from approval to funding in hours!