As the shortage of truck drivers continues to grow 鈥� based on current trends lines of freight demand versus truck driver availability, a potential shortfall of 239,000 drivers may develop by 2022 鈥� motor carriers are trying to figure out how to convince more 鈥渘ew blood鈥� to take up piloting big rigs for a living.
And such 鈥渃onvincing鈥� won鈥檛 be easy, as聽Clay Murdoch, president of聽Doug Andrus Distributing, explained during a panel discussion on聽driver demographics at the聽McLeod Software 2017 User Conference this week. 鈥淲e have to level with people that they are coming into one of the most difficult jobs they鈥檝e ever had,鈥� he said.
Not exactly a sure-fire approach to winning hearts and minds for a career behind the wheel.
Yet truck driving can be a better career than in the past, as fleets work to provide more pay, home time, and other benefits. But to truly increase the available pool of applicants, many believe trucking needs to continue reaching 鈥渙utside the box鈥� for 鈥渘on-traditional鈥� truck driver recruits 鈥� and that includes women.
Right now 鈥� depending on which set of numbers you look at 鈥� women comprise between 4.1% and 6% of the overall truck driver population; a population that currently hovers around 3.5 million, with 3.1 million of that total holding commercial driver鈥檚 licenses (CDLs).
Yet as聽Ellen Voie, president of the Women in Trucking (WIT) advocacy group explained at the McLeod conference, different approaches are needed to recruit and retain female workers in freight hauling world 鈥� and not just as truck drivers, either.
鈥淲omen can bring a different perspective to the business, be it the driver鈥檚 seat, the board room, or the executive office,鈥� she said.
And Voie stressed that one factor that favors trucking鈥檚 recruiting efforts where females are concerned is that women can actually earn 30% more in 鈥渘on-traditional鈥� careers when compared to 鈥渢ypical鈥� occupations for their gender such as teaching and nursing.
In many ways, though, transportation is not really a 鈥渘on-traditional鈥� career choice for women 鈥� something聽Elaine Chao, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, stressed in a speech earlier this year.
鈥淓ven in the early stages of modern transportation, women helped advance technology through their innovative ideas and inventions. By 1923, more than 175 patents were granted to women for inventions related to vehicles, traffic signals and turn indicators,鈥� she said.
鈥淭heir achievements helped pave the way for others. Leaders like Elizabeth Dole, who on February 7, 1983, broke the glass ceiling to become the eighth U.S. Secretary of Transportation and the first woman to ever hold that position. Or Mary Peters, who on October 17, 2006, became the 15th U.S. Secretary of Transportation,鈥� Chao pointed out. 鈥淥r Mary Barra, who in 2014, became CEO of General Motors and the first woman to lead a major auto manufacturer.鈥�
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