The transport industry's macho culture is slowly disappearing as more women enter the industry, CILTA says
By Ruza Zivkusic | February 24, 2010
The transport industry’s macho culture is slowly disappearing as more women enter the industry, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILTA) says.
CILTA’s national chair, Howard Croxon, says he is seeing a significant change in what has predominantly been a male occupation
The group runs the Women Moving Forward mentoring program to give females a pathway into the transport and logistics industry, and Croxon says it is programs like this that help reduce the gender imbalance.
CILTA CEO Hal Morris says more government and industry companies are enrolling their employees in the 12-week long course.
The whole point this course starting was because I was very concerned about the lack of skills and shortage in the industry and the gender balance that were way under on any level men to women in our industry,” Morris says.
“It’s pretty self-evident that if you’re short of skills and you’re cutting out 50 percent of your potential workforce that is women by not having environments that support them and allow them to develop, then that’s just crazy.”
The previous sessions have involved more than 130 women from over 100 companies and government agencies across Australia, with the mentoring program becoming the largest and most effective for women in the industry.
Croxon says the industry needs to do more to inform school and university students about such jobs.
“There is no doubt that the historical macho approach is changing and people are seeing that women can perform these tasks and do them very successfully,” he says.
Registrations for the next round of the program close on June 3.