In The News

Women in Trucking: Gaining a Foothold

Becoming a professional truck driver traditionally hasn’t been a common career goal for women, but that fact is changing as more and more women enter the trucking industry.

From the highway to the boardroom and even to Washington, D.C., women are making a bigger impact on trucking.

One such woman is Linda Caffee, a Missouri-based expedited trucker who drives as part of a team with her husband, Bob.

Linda Caffee spent five years as a non-driving passenger while her husband drove a tractor-trailer. But six years ago, after the couple visited the Expedite Expo trucking show in Wilmington, Ohio, they moved into expedited trucking and Linda decided to put her dormant CDL to use as a team driver.

Caffee said she enjoys her new career immensely, but there were some challenges.

“You have to get used to standing in line to take a shower,” she said. “But that’s just the same for the male drivers. You don’t get to soak in a tub. And there’s no secrets in a truck. Women like to primp and that sort of thing, and that’s hard to do when you live in an eight-foot box.”

As in any relationship, Caffee said disagreements occur. But she and her husband understand that they are operating a business, and the business takes top priority.

“The load comes before any disagreement,” she said.

Ellen Voie, president and chief executive officer of Women in Trucking, said Caffee’s situation is typical of female drivers in the trucking industry.

“Sixty to 70 percent of women drive in a team configuration with a spouse or a significant other,” Voie said, citing safety and security as a key factor behind that statistic.

Women in Trucking is a non-profit organization whose goals are to encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry, promote their accomplishments and minimize obstacles faced by women in the industry.

The group accomplishes those goals through a variety of efforts — including working with trucking companies to eliminate sexual discrimination and consulting with truck stop owners to make their locations safer and more amenable to women.

“TA and Petro have security guards now,” Voie said. “We’re trying to get more showers. The truck stops are really trying to accommodate women.”

Those challenges aside, Voie and Caffee say women can be just as productive as their male counterparts. In fact, Voie said some companies have told her that female drivers are easier to train and she said she believes they are more attentive and patient.

“I’m trying to quantify whether women are safer drivers or not,” Voie said. “I keep being told that women are safer drivers. I just don’t have the statistics to back me up. ... I can tell you anecdotally, though, what carriers tell me. Carriers will tell me: Ellen, send as many women drivers as possible because women are better at multitasking, women take fewer risks, women are easier to train, women are better with customers and women are better on the equipment.”

Both Caffee and Voie said they are seeing many more female drivers than they did even a few years ago, and there are several reasons: improving technology has made trucks easier to drive, drivers are being required to physically touch less and less freight and the industry’s perennial need for drivers has created opportunities for women.

“Women have found they can make a good living in trucking,” Caffee said.

In fact, women are becoming more prevalent in the trucking industry in a variety of capacities, not just behind the wheel. It’s no longer uncommon to see women in high-level management positions with trucking companies. The head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the government body that oversees the trucking industry, is a woman: Anne S. Ferro. Another woman, Deborah A.P. Hersman, is chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board.

In March, Women in Trucking honored Rochelle Gorman, chief executive officer of Arkansas-based carrier CalArk International, as its first Influential Woman of the Year.

“Women are becoming more visible in leadership roles, which is great, because it starts at the top,” Voie said.

Still, Voie said the trucking industry remains “very much a man’s world.” Women in Trucking is working to change that.

“I think the primary reason is image,” she said. “I think that women don’t picture themselves as being a part of the trucking industry. How many little girls grow up and say ‘I want to drive a big rig?’ They call that the socialization part of it. Moms and dads don’t say, you can grow up and be a truck driver. We need to start doing that. We’re working on a children’s book that shows a little girl who wants to grow up and be a truck driver. You’ve got to start putting that in their mindset.”

womenintrucking.org