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Ryder, J.B. Hunt Work to Bring More Women to Trucking
In many ways, for all of its history, the trucking industry has been largely dominated by males. In 2014, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that only 5.8% of truck drivers were women, lower than the percentage of female construction managers or mechanical engineers. Luckily, it looks like this is in the process of changing thanks to a number of new industry-wide initiatives encouraging more and more women to find a home in truck driving jobs, that growth should continue. More and more people are working to bring women into a variety of roles in the trucking industry, from OTR truckers to CEOs at trucking companies nationwide.
Ryder Dedicated recently announced that they were partnering with Women in Trucking to work with cab manufacturers to make trucks more adaptable for female drivers. Ryder and WIT plan to promote, among other things, adjustable seats and pedals for shorter drivers, lower steps for accessing both cabs and freight, and less fatiguing automatic transmissions. Ryder and WIT also point out that in addition to being beneficial to women, these changes will also benefit the aging driver population, which now averages 55 years old.
Additionally, Ryder and WIT are calling for increased security measures for drivers, a move that benefits all long haul drivers, who are at risk for violence or theft as they sleep in their trucks, often in isolated rest stops. The duo hope that more and more manufacturers will follow in the footsteps of Volvo, who is among manufacturers that offer trucks complete with an alarm system to keep drivers safe from intruders while the cab is stationary.
Ryder and WIT also hope to change some of the intangible factors that they feel could be driving women away from the industry. As mentioned earlier, trucking’s image as a profession for men hasn’t changed nearly as quickly as other professions. The time spent away from home also makes it a more difficult profession to market to women. A Fortune article notes Gay Cooper, a driver for Ryder who drove long haul for years, but was quick to change when Ryder offered shorter routes that would offer her the chance to be home with her family each night.
That is not to say that trucking doesn’t come with it’s own set of advantages. “If you want a low stress environment, not deal with any kind of drama, this is the place to be…” says Sylvia Chavez, another driver for Ryder. “To a certain degree you’re your own boss.” Ellen Voie, president of Women in Trucking, also pointed out to Forbes that working as a trucker offers decent pay while not requiring a college degree.
Ryder also hopes that promoting more and more women to join their team will help to ease the driver shortage that they, as well as companies nationwide, are experiencing.
Ryder isn’t the only company putting in extra effort to draw more women into the industry. J.B. Hunt recently unveiled a new employee resource group called Growing and Retaining Outstanding Women (GROW) in efforts to bring more female workers to their company. GROW is largely the brainchild of Shelley Simpson, J.B. Hunt’s chief marketing officer, executive vice president, and president of integrated capacity solutions and the trucking division. Simpson is currently the highest ranking woman at J.B. Hunt, and it is her hope that more and more women will find success within her company.
GROW’s mission is to attract, engage and help talented women reach their goals within J.B. Hunt by providing them with resources to help boost their careers and personal connection to J.B. Hunt. GROW has four pillars: Recruiting and retaining women, professional development, community involvement, and collaboration and connection.
“I have a lot of passion around females and leadership,” Simpson said in an article with Arkansas Online. “Particularly when you’re working in an industry that is more male dominated just by sheer nature of what we do. A lot of it comes down to education, connection and understanding what is really possible. We can have great, long careers and being a female is not something that would hold you back.”
Voie of WIT again noted the challenge of breaking free from the image of the industry being solely a place for men. “Most of us got here because they were in another position and either got promoted or were offered an opportunity,” Voie said. “So our biggest challenge is saying there’s great jobs here. Whether it’s a career in truck dispatching or accounting or computers or whatever, there’s great jobs in the trucking industry. We’ve got to get more women looking at trucking as a career potential.”
Shannon Newton, the first woman to become the president of the Arkansas Trucking Association, also noted that people are generally unaware of the opportunities available at trucking companies in accounting, human resources, and engineering departments. She said she hoped that groups like GROW will do a better job of relaying that message to women, helping to change trucking’s image of only an industry for men.
“Programs like that help everyone,” Newton said. “Young women who are aware of a program like that or have a mentor or see someone they go to church with or lives down the street have a successful career in trucking, they may choose to do that. … That contributes to the well-being of the industry.”
GROW has proven to be a popular program since the beginning. The initial membership started with about 200 employees, and has since reached 318 members. The program is open to anyone, including men. There are 42 in the program. Simpson noted that while the program may be geared toward women, it “offers things anyone can use.”
GROW has a number of programs they’ve developed to help women gain experience to lead to their success. One of those programs is “Lunch with a Leader”, where members have opportunities to interact with J.B. Hunt’s executives. The group also leads a number of networking and small group activities.
In addition to working with professionals, Tami Allensworth, J.B. Hunt’s vice president of transportation and president of the program’s board noted that the company also works at the college level as well, reaching out to students emphasizing opportunities, particularly for women, in supply chain and transportation. The company would like to take the education to the high school level as well, in efforts of introducing girls to career possibilities in trucking at a younger age.
“Our desire is to help women reach whatever their goals are,” said Tami Allensworth, J.B. Hunt’s vice president of transportation and president of the program’s board. “Some aren’t interested in becoming the next ‘insert.’ That’s the beauty of GROW. It’s growing and retaining of outstanding women and making you highly successful in whatever your goals are.”
Get more information about Ryder or J.B. Hunt by visiting their websites.
Related posts:
- Ryder Unveils Truck Spec’d for Women
- Ryder & Anheuser-Busch go green with CNG
- Women In Trucking: 3rd Annual Salute to the Women Behind the Wheel
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Ryder, J.B. Hunt Work to Bring More Women to Trucking
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