Why So Many Women Are Suddenly Taking Jobs As Truckers
Women are taking more jobs as truckers as the pandemic trucking shortage continues.
Women are taking more jobs as truckers as the pandemic shortage continues. During the pandemic, many teachers, service workers, and other female medical professionals made a temporary career change to truckers as the distribution industry was not as affected as other businesses. As they returned to their original jobs, it left a massive shortage of employees, but there is an enormous intuitive to bring in more women truckers.
Several unions are pushing to end any violence or harassment women may get if they were to agree to work as a trucker. They are working to remove many factors preventing women from joining the trucking industry, such as risks to their safety and unequal wages.
The frequency of female truckers has risen over the last five years. Female drivers comprise over eight percent of truck and delivery drivers. Also, thirty-three percent of C-Suite executives in the transportation and distribution industry are women.
Women make excellent truck drivers as they are more reliable drivers with statistically fewer road accidents. Predominantly, women have better soft skills, such as better communication and organizational skills.
The trucker shortage was highlighted in the media during the pandemic, but it started long before that. After the pandemic in 2021, the deficit was reported to be 80,000 and was still increasing rapidly.
To address this shortage, the trucking industry had to undergo a mass recruitment process to recruit hundreds of thousands of new truckers to keep up with demand. Several significant changes are happening within the industry to make it a more attractive place for women to work because the industry needs their skills.
Many male and female truckers are only paid for driving time, much like taxi drivers. They are not paid for any time waiting to load and unload their cargo. This gives a level of uncertainty to this job, something that many people would not like.
Even though women truckers are only beginning to increase in numbers, women have been in many other roles throughout the transport and distribution industry, such as dispatcher, human resources, and safety. But as demand increases in the trucking and technician sectors, many organizations are trying to get more women involved.
Women in trucking have become more popular through social media platforms like TikTok, which shows women being excited to work solo, decide there schedules, and receive excellent pay. It shows a massive audience of young women that there is an opportunity that they may not necessarily have though of otherwise. Over half of the female truckers make up to $100,000 annually.
Women have started entering this industry, shaping it into an equal and accommodating sector from the ground up. While many female drivers are new to the industry, it was reported that these women truckers developed a better relationship with their dispatchers than their male counterparts.
Seeing what was a predominately male sector become a more open and equal space for women to thrive in is great, as trucking was always known as a male job. It is refreshing to see such a massive change.
