Women in the trucking industry

Women in the trucking industry

Reference Page

What is the value of the Women in Trucking Association Western Trucking News March 2016 Issue 94

https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/as-sa/99-012-x/99-012-x2011002-eng.cfm

https://www.truckinghr.com/en/content/women-drive

http://www.mover.net/movers/news/releases/NationalOccStandardsChart.pdf

https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/05/16/trucking-industry-faces-labour-shortage-as-it-struggles-to-attract-young-drivers.html

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/16/the-next-big-thing-in-us-trucking-female-drivers.html

http://breakawaystaffing.ca/women-in-trucking/

The article I chose for this assessment was about women in the trucking industry, and how the Women in Trucking Association (WIT) started. It began with small group of thoughtful, committed individuals who’ve been focused on increasing the percentage of women employed in the trucking industry. The article brings attention to the fact that, although women make up half the labor force, a very small percentage are in the trucking industry. One of the goals the Women in Trucking organization has is to address reasons why women aren’t fairly represented in trucking industry roles. They’ve conducted research to better understand what women are looking for in a company, what values attract them and where to find potential female drivers.

The article discusses how some trucking manufacturers are now changing cab designs with better ergonomics in mind, to better accommodate a wide range of body shapes and sizes. They have also brought up the concern of safety and have challenged manufacturers to include safety alarms in the cabs to alert a sleeping driver of an intruder. WIT has also developed an anti-harassment employment guide, which provides carriers with resources for drivers and training situations.
WIT provides companies with facts and data in regards to hiring, promoting and retaining women in management roles. They bring awareness of an unconscious bias in hiring and promoting women, as it is prevalent in male dominated environments by both men and women. The organization’s goal is to be a resource while bringing diversity to the industry and attracting more women.

The toughest challenge that WIT has, is the masculine image the trucking industry has. They are making great efforts to reduce the stereotype the industry has. As stated in the article, “Women in Trucking is not an association for women: it’s a group of men and women who care about more diversity in transportation”.

The current situation in the trucking industry entails a number of organizational factors that limit or hinder the level of female participation. There is an unconscious bias that the industry isn’t for women, and there is the fact that the trucking industry is male dominated. According to Statistics Canada, women make up 48 percent of the total workforce. In the transportation industry, only 3 percent of the professional truck drivers, 11 percent of the managers and 18 percent of the dispatchers are women.

The Women in Trucking organization recently released their index that tracked female board members and female executives at fifteen publicly traded trucking companies in North America. They found that out of the fifteen companies, ten of them had no female executives and seven of them had no women serving on their boards of directors. These statistics confirm the low level of female participation in the industry.

A number of organizational factors contribute to the current lack of women in trucking. Some of these factors include stereotyping, unconscious bias, organizational culture and current leadership. Stereotyping of females and their perceived limitations potentially limits their opportunities for entry into the industry, while an unconscious bias toward male hires may make it more difficult for women to gain employment. The image of the trucking industry as a primarily male occupation may discourage women from considering it as a career choice. Existing organizational culture contributes toward perpetuating the male orientation of the industry, whereas the current male-dominated leadership may not perceive the potential value of a female perspective on the industry.

It's hardly a secret that the trucking and transportation industry is one of those sectors of society, like firefighting and auto repair, where it has traditionally been male-dominated. I have worked in the male-dominated industry for many years, in various positions from receptionist to regional manager. Throughout my career, I’ve always focused on the business. What the company’s goal was and how we were going to get it done was the focus, and gender didn’t come into play until I would encounter someone who wasn’t receptive to me because of my gender.

We should always be thinking that every person potentially has talent and something to offer in our organization. We need to ask the appropriate questions and find out what their skills and abilities are, regardless of gender or other factors. Human resource departments work diligently to remove intentional bias from the workplace, yet unconscious bias is widespread. Mostly because, well, it’s unconscious!

Organizational culture represents the values, beliefs or perceptions held by employees within the trucking industry. Because organizational culture reflects these behavioral norms that are used by employees in an organization, they give meaning to the situations that might be encountered, and influences the attitudes and behavior of the staff. Having a mix of both men and women in management and leadership roles creates a balanced corporate culture. The core values of an organization begin with its leadership, subordinates will usually be led by these values and the behaviors of the leaders or culture of the company. A company that has diversity and a strong culture has common values and codes of conduct for its employees, which should help them accomplish their missions and goals. Work recognition and job satisfaction can be achieved when employees can complete the tasks assigned to them by the organization.

Women workers constitute 48 percent of the world’s workforce, yet in many sectors, such as the trucking industry, women represent only a small minority of workers. In almost all sectors, women are less likely than men to be in management positions. Women continue to face many barriers to full and productive participation in the labor market, including discrimination and culturally entrenched ideas about gender roles, and their contribution is not always equally valued. As such, women are an untapped source of talent and productivity. When the potential of almost half the workforce is not fully realized, this has considerable implications for efficiency and growth at the enterprise, sectoral and national level.

Recognizing that removing barriers for women is key to increasing female representation within the trucking industry. I believe we need to continue to raise awareness among women and change their perceptions about working in the industry, so they consider it as a leading career opportunity. Due to the public image of the trucking industry there are definitely hurdles to overcome to appeal to women. The industry’s image of male-domination, includes long periods of time away from home, a need to be strong, and a need to be mechanically inclined. The image tends to make many women feel as though they wouldn’t fit into the industry. We need to change the public image of the trucking world and appeal more to women, to convince them that truck driving is a viable career option.

In March of last year the Government of Canada committed $421,720 to developing a mentorship program to further women in the trucking industry. The mentorship program will identify best practices for hiring in the trucking industry, the program is called, “Women with Drive”. They developed a five step action plan which consists of; Develop mentoring, training, and professional development opportunities for women in trucking. Develop a marketing and communication plan to promote workplace challenges for women. Develop workplace policies, procedures, and best practices of the industry. Obtain more insight from female drivers to get a better understanding of what they face on a daily basis. Influence policy at multiple levels of government to effect systemic change.

Is the trucking industry missing out on the benefits that gender diversity would bring to its firms?
Research has shown that companies that do not practice or ignore diversity are not working in the best interests, not only of their employees, but their stakeholders as well. The benefits of diversity are profound, companies that strategically include women in their ranks send a strong message about the power of inclusion to the full workforce. Tapping into this talent pipeline would be a tremendous business opportunity for any carrier.

“ Women bring rich and diverse perspectives to the workplace. Often, they bring management styles which are quite complementary to those of men. Workplaces that celebrate women naturally benefit from better decisions, as a result of such diversity. That alone is reason enough for every Company to put this topic at the forefront of its business and human resources agenda.” —Cyrus Mistry, Chairman, Tata Global Beverages Source: Tata Global Beverages Annual Report 2012-2013