By Sandy Long
- / N2N / – There is a lot of talk these days about how to make women more comfortable about entering male dominated fields. Leveling the playing fields so that any job is available to any gender in today’s economy makes a lot of sense; but how does one make anyone comfortable in entering any profession?
When I entered trucking, way back when, the predominant idea about women in male dominated jobs was that we would not be able to do the job, that our hormones would control us and that we would not hold up under the conditions both mental and physical demanded at that time in trucking.

Women who were hired back then and who persevered, did not get emotional once a month or anytime else unless angered, did the job without asking for quarter and kept any stress related issues to themselves and just dealt with them. Women who could not do the above, did not last long.
Sexual harassment was rampant back then too though not expressed in that term when I first climbed in my first truck. It was not uncommon for a lead seat to sleep with their female second seats…therefore many of us would not run with someone that we would not have a relationship with. Of course, the equipment back then was not conducive to private sleeping arrangements; single bunk cabovers, though some of us figured out how to sleep head to toe with our co-drivers.

Some safety directors or personnel directors would expect sexual favors for a woman to move up to second seat or to go solo, we fought those types of behavior. One must remember though that back then, before AIDS and sexual harassment laws, society as a whole was still in the free love ideal, trucking was no different and we women back then understood human nature too. We knew some men were most likely going to try something with us of an intimate nature and we learned quickly how to handle those times with humor and at times aggression.
Today, in trucking, companies want to hire women for many reasons; safety, performance and care of the equipment are just a few of the reasons. Women have moved up the corporate ladder and brought understanding to the boardrooms that women are not the weak, emotional creatures we were once thought of as being. Equipment has changed to be more female (and smaller male) friendly as has the fingerprinting of loads off and on the trailers, we can easily hire lumpers now days. Have ideas changed in reality though?
Women are now entering trucking that are vastly different than those of us who entered back in the day…the 1960’s and ‘70’s. With the poor image of truckers as a whole promoted by insurance companies, lawyers and the media in general, women, who are very aware of sexual harassment laws, enter trucking and look for obstacles such as predatory behavior, sexual harassment and discrimination. At times, they perceive those things where they actually do not exist. Women have forgotten human nature, it appears, in that they do not understand the difference between a driver being interested in them personally and a safety director asking for sexual favors to keep their job.

Many women today want to be treated differently because they are women in male dominated fields. I have heard women saying they want everything from front row reserved parking at truck stops to separate truckstops all together for women only. Some do not think they should have to go to certain places because it is unsafe, though they think it ok that men should go there. Some are so fearful that they want to carry guns or mace even before they get out on the road from trucking school, they think all male drivers are predators.
Women of this type do perpetuate the myth of long ago that women cannot do the job as well as men and may be too emotional or find the stress too great to stay in the field. Companies are now afraid of the sexual harassment suits that are brought by women and some are scrambling to defend themselves against them. Even our male peers are afraid to say good morning to a lady driver because of fear of being called in on for just being polite. Trucking has not changed enough for only women to train women or for women to only deal with other women.
To make women more comfortable in entering the trucking, or any other male dominated field, education is the key. Education of both genders that is. Straight honest information beginning in the trucking schools and ending with companies and recruiters would be a good start. That education should point out the human factors that one will meet in working with the opposite gender, what exactly sexual harassment or discrimination means and how to deal with it to begin with; then further education of company personnel on how to treat everyone equally and with respect to finish off with.

In addition, straight facts on how in actuality many women of both genders are victims of crime especially by other drivers instead of making women fearful of their brother drivers should be taught and talked about.

Women entering a male dominated field have to learn that they have to fit into the field, not the field change to fit them; there is a job to be done and whether one is a male or a female, that job is the same and is done the same way. Problems only enter in on the human level and those sometimes are just nature and the way the genders differ. Any woman who enters any male dominated profession or field has to accept some hard facts about the job too. No, it might not be comfortable until you prove yourself one of the guys and that you can do the job with the rest of them, you will have to have on leather gloves instead of kid gloves to handle some of what you will find. Then you will be comfortable and succeed…if you want to badly enough.

Nation2Nation publishes articles of interest to professionals involved in Supply Chain Security, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Import Export, International Trade, Border Security, Transportation, Transportation Safety, Trucking, Railroad, Air Freight, Maritime and Cargo Management.  Contact Jeff Platts at contact@nation2nation.net.

This post was submitted by Sandy Long.

- / N2N / – In the latest issue of Landline Magazine is a letter to the editor from a friend of mine. In it he talks about how women are still treated in the industry at truck stops, shippers and receivers and among other places we all have to do business at or with. He is right in his contention that it should not happen that a woman driver is not waited on, served, talked to with respect or acknowledged as a professional driver. Things are better than they were 20-30 years ago, but there is still much room for improvement.

Some of we women drivers are working on making the changes we see as needed. Last fall, myself and several other of the Women In Trucking Association Driver Advisory Committee had a phone conference with the executives from the TA/Petro corporation. During the over two hour conference call, we women drivers addressed the very issues at truck stops that my friend in his letter to the editor mentioned; that of courtesy given to women at the restaurants, fuel desks and shops affiliated with TA/Petro. The executives all agreed that it was unacceptable for any woman to be disrespected as a customer of their truck stops and they said that they would institute some additional training for staff to address courtesy towards women drivers especially.

In addition to the above issue concerning women, during the conference call, we also initiated dialog about lighting, pot holes, security and goods available in the stores with the executives that affects all drivers not just women. One of the things I brought up specifically was cleanliness in the bathrooms and showers; I told them, “it does not make a difference if you have big orange towels and flowers if the floor is not clean.”

In my friend’s letter to the editor, he mentioned organizations that are not addressing the issues facing women quickly enough or something to that effect. As a charter member of Women In Trucking Association and as a member of their Driver Advisory Committee, I have seen some good things happen in the four years since it’s founding. A White Paper, which Ellen Voie started researching even before the founding of WIT, is now available thru J.J. Keller, free to WIT’s corporate members, that addresses the treatment of trainees of both genders.

From the Trucker.com:

“The trucking industry has struggled with how to avoid harassment issues between driver trainers and trainees during the initial weeks of employment. “The practice of putting two unrelated individuals in the cab of a truck for a few weeks of training can create a tenuous environment, especially when one is a male and one is a female,” said Ellen Voie, President/CEO of Women In Trucking Association.”

““Unfortunately, the situation is unavoidable if there are not enough female trainers to accompany a female trainee,” Voie remarked. “We realize that harassment issues are not limited to those of opposite gender, so the white paper will be gender neutral to address potential harassment scenarios and offer ways to minimize or eliminate negative interaction,” she added.”
Ray LaHood, Ellen Voie and Anne Ferro

The 2nd annual Salute to the Women Behind the Wheel will be again at MATS this year highlighting women drivers and their accomplishments. This tribute to women truckers puts women out in the limelight so to speak and brings attention to the fact that women are valuable assets to the trucking industry and are garnering millions of miles both as solo and team drivers. It might not seem like much to some people, but it is amazing to see the photo of all those women truckers in their red shirts standing together and focuses media and public attention on the positive role women play in the trucking industry.

As far as organizations go, in my opinion, OOIDA uses a sledgehammer weighted with our huge (though not huge enough yet) membership and their almost four decades of experience in making changes and in getting their point across. The Women In Trucking Association uses a tack hammer and through their affiliations with trucking companies on all levels is chipping away at the inequalities facing we women in the trucking industry in all areas of it. WIT encourages their connections to see women as a valuable resource to fill their truck’s seats and to treat them equally with our brother drivers.

As a young organization, we members at WIT are making the connections necessary to effect change in the future with politicians, companies and other organizations. Eventually, through good publicity such as the Salute to the Women Behind the Wheel, the White Paper concerning policies to avoid harassment of trainees of both genders and opportunities given to us member advocates of the trucking industry through interaction with people who approach WIT for accurate information; WIT will graduate to a bigger hammer.

Until then, we women drivers need to be patient, good things will come through hard work and finesse; I cannot wait for the day we are treated totally equally with our brother drivers, but it will come, making changes just takes some time.

By Sandy Long, ladygodiva1953@att.net

Nation2Nation publishes articles of interest to professionals involved in Supply Chain Security, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Import Export, International Trade, Border Security, Transportation, Transportation Safety, Trucking, Railroad, Air Freight, Maritime and Cargo Management.  Contact Jeff Platts at contact@nation2nation.net.

This post was submitted by Sandy Long.