Trucking: Lending a hand to get more women on the road
Advocacy associations support recruiting and training of female drivers
By Kathlyn Horibe
October 13, 2008
A number of organizations in the United States and Canada are helping women to consider trucking as a career.
Women in Trucking was established for three primary reasons, said Ellen Voie, president and founder of the Plover, Wisc., organization. “First, we want to encourage women to consider a career in the trucking industry either as a mechanic, driver or in management. Secondly, we want to remove any obstacles that might keep a woman from considering trucking as a career option and, finally, we celebrate successes.
“There have been many women who have broken the barriers before us and quietly done their jobs,” she continued. “We want to acknowledge them and let them know that we are proud of them. The 12 women on our board of directors all have very different backgrounds – from driver to magazine editor to recruiter – and they’ve been in the industry for a combined total of over 270 years. Recently, one of our members at eight months pregnant won the Montana State Truck Driving Championship.”
Women in Trucking, which has approximately 1,300 members from around the world, also has a large presence in Canada. Jayne Gunn, recruiting specialist at Sunbury Transport, which has its head office in Fredericton, N.B., is a board member. She is also president of the Brantford Traffic Club.
“About 15 per cent of our members are men as they believe in our mission and support our efforts,” said Ms. Voie, who since 1980 has been held numerous positions in trucking, such as dispatcher, traffic manager and fleet co-owner.
Trucking is a $67-billion-a-year industry, according to the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council, and its 50,000 businesses employ half a million people. The CTHRC is a non-profit organization that works in partnership with the trucking industry to develop products and services to recruit, train and retain the human resources needed to meet current and long-term requirements.
In 2006, the U.S. Department of Labor found that 5.2 per cent were women drivers. “This has been pretty constant over the past 10 years in regard to percentage,” Ms. Voie said. “I believe that the number of women drivers, estimated at 200,000 in the U.S., has increased. However, it is difficult to find actual current data to support this.”
She said that, according to the CTHRC, only three per cent of the drivers in Canada are women. The industry employs over 270,000 drivers, said the Ontario Trucking Association.
“Probably three to five per cent of truckers are women who have commercial licences,” said Joanne Ritchie, who sits on the CTHRC board, “and it’s growing because there’s a concerted effort on the part of some organizations to try to attract women to the industry.”
Owner-operators
Ms. Ritchie is the executive director of the Owner-Operator’s Business Association of Canada, a national trade association founded in 2001 to represent professional drivers and owner-operators across the country. She left her position as a trucking analyst with the federal Industry Department to head up the not-for-profit organization.
“There was a need for an organization because there was no advocacy group for single truck owner-operators,” she said. “When I was within government, I could see that a lot of the issues had come about because of lack of input from small truck owners. The large trucking companies were usually consulted but the behind-the-wheel perspective of those issues was often not captured.
“Many of the issues for owner-operators were business issues with the carriers they work for, which the government couldn’t do something about,” she added. “There was also a lack of business skills basically because a lot of people became truck owners after being drivers. We encourage them to understand that they’re setting up a small business. They just happen to be driving a truck.”
An estimated 40,000 to 50,000 small business operators in Canada own and operate their own trucks. For the most part, these entrepreneurs work under contract to transport carriers. A small number are hired by private carriers, such as manufacturing companies, to transport their products to market.
Regarding the number of women owner-operators, said Ms. Ritchie, who’s been working with the trucking industry for 15 years, “Stats Canada is working with us now to get a better definition as no one has actually defined what an owner-operator is, which means they don’t get captured separately in the statistics.”
Another reason OBAC was founded was the difficulty in finding “good, reliable, relevant and up-to-date information on trucking regulations,” she said, “both for the people within and outside the industry.”
Due to turnover and demand, there’s a driver shortage in Canada. According to Labour Standard Issues in the Inter-provincial Canadian Trucking Industry, which surveyed 1,400 fleet managers, driver turnover in 2002 was estimated to be approximately 36 per cent across all types of fleets. Though this rate is higher than the Canadian average, it’s in keeping with construction, forestry and agriculture industries.
The report, which was submitted to the Federal Labour Standards Commission in 2006, also determined that an average of 37,000 drivers annually is required to meet industry demands over the next few years. “This includes 10,000 a year to meet projected industry growth,” the report said, “6,000 to replace retiring drivers and 21,000 to replace those leaving driving for non-driving positions in the industry or elsewhere.”
“We’re looking at ways to attract any other demographic than what has been our usual demographic – the 18- to 30-year-old male,” Ms. Ritchie said. “That pool is drying up. Canada has the largest baby boom population in the western hemisphere. For that reason, down the road we’re (Canada) facing a huge labour shortage and everyone is looking at the “non-traditional” pool to try to attract people to the industry.”
Women are considering a career in driving for a number of reasons. “Women are becoming more secure in working in traditionally male areas,” Ms. Voie said. “This generation has not been conditioned to believe that jobs are defined by gender. Also, the trucking industry is reaching out to women much more and showing women that they can do the job and that they are needed.
Trans-West Logistics is one company that hires women drivers. “We have 71 women drivers,” said Guy Roy, safety and compliance manager. Established in 1988, the Lachine, Que.-headquartered company, which has terminals in Toronto and Vancouver, employs a total of 230 drivers.
“Our first ladies started 15 years ago,” Mr. Roy said. “Trans-West is a team driving company. One or two teams are woman and woman but the majority are couples – a man and a woman. They are also couples in real life. They get along pretty well and they drive between Montreal and California. It’s quite an interesting job for a couple. Some of them are carrying their cats, their dogs.”
Trans-West employs couples as team drivers because “they are more stable,” he added. “They will stay longer and they will be happier. Getting two men in the same truck for a certain period of time – sometimes it’s difficult to find the perfect match.”
“It’s not an industry that turns people away because they’re women, if companies are actively recruiting good, safe drivers with good records,” Ms. Ritchie said. “A lot of women start out driving teams with their husband or partners so they’re both in the truck. Probably more women are driving that way than driving alone.”
“Not enough women are joining the profession,” said Gus Rahim, president of the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario Inc. Annually, the association’s 29 member schools graduate approximately 6,000 truck drivers, 10 to 20 per cent of whom are women. The schools offer a six-week AZ tractor trailer training course. The minimum educational requirement is Grade 10 or an equivalency test.
“More women should look into truck driving as a career,” he said. “It’s in demand. Even in these slow times, companies are still hiring. A few months ago, before the economy turned down, they were just screaming. They couldn’t find enough drivers. Right now they are still hiring but they can be more selective.”
Salaries range from $40,000 per year and up. Local jobs are paid hourly from $18 and up, while the long haul jobs are paid by the mile. “On long haul, you’re allowed 10 hours of driving and four hours on duty for loading and unloading,” Mr. Rahim said.
“Many women are learning that a traditional blue collar role allows them to earn much better wages than some of the pink collar jobs,” Ms. Voie added.
Select an Ontario training school that is accredited by the TTSAO and recognized by Markel Insurance Company or Kingsway General Insurance Company, Mr. Rahim cautioned. “Those two companies represent almost 60 per cent of the trucking market and they’ve endorsed the programs. If you have a certificate from the TTSAO, it’s easier to get hired. Otherwise, they’ll demand experience.”
According to the OTA, 37 per cent of the truck fleets are located in Ontario, 25 per cent in Alberta and 13.5 per cent in Quebec.
Safety and security
Ms. Ritchie said, “A lot of the things that we’re trying to encourage others in the industry to do to attract women are things that make the industry better and safer for everybody, such as safer truck stop parking areas, laundry facilities at truck stops, better work/life balance. Some companies are also looking at a more ergonomic truck, different kinds of seating, the kind of things that are not one size fits all like it used to be.
“Trucking is a really tough job with long hours,” she added. “When you’re on the road, it’s difficult to make regular doctor’s appointments. It’s hard enough to know where you’re going to be next week never mind three months from now. Then there are health issues. You can’t just pull in a truck anywhere, and you could be eating lunch at 2 o’clock in the morning. Your whole work schedule is regulated and governed by hours of service. All those health and lifestyle issues are keeping a lot of people away from the industry not just women.”
“Our organization helps identify what keeps women from being on a level playing field,” Ms. Voie said, “such as the inequity in rest room facilities at loading docks, the lack of women-sized clothing and footwear, no toiletries at truck stops and the corporate culture that might not recognize and encourage women to become drivers or mechanics or take on leadership roles. We look at advertising and recruiting methods and help companies become more sensitive to what women need to be successful. We’re working with the truck stops to make sure that women can feel safer when they stop at these facilities.”
Women won’t put up with a lot of things that men put up with, Ms. Ritchie laughed. “Because that’s the way it is. They’re agents of change. Young people with younger families want more home time or a better balance so I think women are driving a lot of that. I’m one of the first waves of ‘70s feminists, but it’s also about breaking down barriers to entry for women into the industry.”
Regarding the skill set a truck driver needs, Ms. Voie said, “He or she should be able to work independently, while still under the scrutiny of outside influence such as law enforcement, scale operators, customers, dispatchers and others. He or she needs to be able to think quickly and react quickly to their surroundings. A professional driver must also be somewhat adept at reading maps, taking directions and understanding the highway system. Most importantly, in order to survive, a truck driver must view him or herself as a professional.”
“A good safe place, earning a decent wage and a good life/work balance – those are the kinds of things that are going to attract anybody into the industry,” Ms. Ritchie said. “The best way to get women into the job is to change the job.”