Equipment concerns, safety and harassment are key obstacles keeping women from driving trucks, Women in Trucking Association USA founder says
Ruza Zivkusic-Aftasi | June 22, 2012
Equipment concerns, safety and harassment are key obstacles that keep women from driving trucks, Women in Trucking Association USA (MTA) founder Ellen Voie says.
In Melbourne for tomorrow’s Transport Women Australia’s annual conference, Voie believes the US and Australia share similar problems attracting female drivers.
Five years since establishing the association, which has grown across all 50 states and into Canada, Voie has worked to encourage women to enter the industry. She says one in 20 truck drivers, or five percent, are women.
With the figure staying steady for the past 20 years, Voie believes operators need to make the driving image more appealing to women.
“The more visible you can make women in the industry the more women will start saying they can do it,” Voie says.
“My favourite driver for image is a short, heavy set woman in her 50s who went to driving school and lives in Florida. She goes out two months at a time and comes back two to three weeks to visit her daughter and grandchildren.
“I asked her if she has ever been unable to fulfil the requirements at the job and she said no – which means you don’t have to be big.”
Visiting schools and promoting drivers has also proven to be helpful in the US, she adds.
“We have done some profiles on female drivers and women who drive trucks are non-traditional but very patient, they see themselves as outside the norm,” Voie says.
“People think that trucking is not a good, professional job so women don’t picture themselves in trucks but the interesting thing about driving a truck is that you’re making the exact same pay whether you’re male or female.”
She has worked with many truck manufacturers on making vehicles women-friendly by bringing the dash closer and making seatbelts more comfortable.
“The seatbelts are an issue. A lot of women are buxom so if the seatbelt doesn’t fit right it’s very uncomfortable to be sitting there at eight hours at a time,” she says.
“A lot of women would put the seatbelt behind them which is wrong. It’s a safety thing and manufacturers are interested in designing this for them.”
Safety is number one concern for female US drivers, who complain about lighting and lack of amenities at truck stops.
MTA has been educating female drivers about safety and is in the process of establishing a crisis hotline, where women in danger can call for help.
“An experienced driver will say don’t walk in between the truck, don’t walk in alone if you can help it and carry a little bit of cash on you, including your ID and phone,” Voie says.
Many also experience harassment by their fellow male drivers.
“There is a harassment issue out there and most of the women who are harassed are harassed by their fellow male driver,” she says.
“Some male drivers give them a hard time either at truck stops or on central dock saying they should be at home, barefoot and pregnant.
“Even I get emails from drivers who say women shouldn’t be out there, that this is not an environment for them.”
Involving politicians by taking them on trips and showing them the every-day life of a female truckie helps send positive messages about the industry, Voie explains.
Commenting on Australia’s recent media coverage of speed tampering, Voie believes the industry needs to start emphasising the right things it does and keep informing the media about it.
“We send out a lot of press releases about the good stuff like the positive drug rate for truck drivers, which is miniscule. We need to make sure that people know that,” she says.
“The accident rate is so much less for drivers in the US. Three out of four accidents are caused by a car driver and we need to keep reminding people about that.
“You guys (Australia) have got such bigger trucks so it’s going to be harder to get women to understand that they can drive them because the bigger the truck the more daunting it is.”
Tomorrow’s full-day seminar called Moving with the Times will be held at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Holiday Inn. Eight sessions will be covered. Voie will touch on skills shortages and sectors working together.
