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For Immediate Release
Contact:
Brynn Everett, Women In Trucking Association
952-442-8850
ext.220, brynn@womenintrucking.org
Women
In Trucking Association Publishes Whitepaper on Same-Gender Training
Plover, WI – Jan. 25, 2022 –
The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has published a new whitepaper,
“Same-Gender Training Policy: Recruiting and Protecting Female Drivers.”
Same-gender cab sharing during over-the-road training has been a primary
concern of current and prospective female truck drivers.
After receiving their commercial driver’s
license, aspiring professional drivers typically accompany an experienced
one on their route to become more confident, safer, and capable on the
road, according to Ellen Voie, president and CEO of WIT. This not only
could mean working exclusively with a stranger in close quarters for long
hours during the day, it also means the potential of needing to sleep in
the same vehicle, said Voie.
Some of the whitepaper outlines
perspectives drivers hold specifically on same-gender training and its
impact on female drivers in the industry. WIT conducted a driver safety and
harassment survey to gain an understanding from professional drivers about
their perceptions and experiences involving safety and harassment in the
North American trucking industry. More than 430 professional drivers
completed the survey from July through Sept. 2021.
Given that 46 percent of drivers in the WIT
study indicated that they have had an unwanted physical advance made toward
them at least once and another 52 percent know of someone who had an
unwanted physical advance made toward them, it is understandable why the
prospect of cab sharing with a member of the opposite gender concerns many
women, said Voie.
The WIT survey found that while most
drivers believe their truck cabs are safe, they also indicated knowledge of
women falling victim to harassment or assault while sharing a cabin. “The
Women In Trucking Association continues to press hard for companies to
develop corporate policies that could help significantly shift this
trajectory,” said Voie. There are a number of corporate policy
recommendations on same-gender training that Voie recommends:
- Adopt a same-gender
training policy that enables female professional drivers to have the
option for a same-gender trainer when involved in on-the-road training
activities.
- When having a same-gender
trainer isn’t an option in instances involving female drivers, develop
alternatives to help reduce or eliminate issues, such as ensuring that
when sleeping arrangements need to be made that one of the parties has
the ability to have a paid hotel room available to avoid the need to
sleep together in the same cab.
- Encourage driving teams
where partners who are friends, spouses, or in a committed
relationship alternate their time behind the wheel on the same route.
- Upgrade in-cab safety
technology where trucks are equipped with sound-enabled in-cab cameras
and panic/emergency buttons in the sleeper and cabin areas.
This whitepaper is the first of a series
focused on safety and harassment issues for women in the transportation
industry. To download a copy of the whitepaper, click here: https://www.womenintrucking.org/safety-harassment-series
To download the following charts, click
here:
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About Women In Trucking
Association, Inc.
Women In Trucking Association, Inc. is a
nonprofit association established to encourage the employment of women in
the trucking industry, promote their accomplishments and minimize obstacles
faced by women working in the trucking industry. Membership is not limited
to women, as 17 percent of its members are men who support the mission.
Women In Trucking is supported by its members and the generosity of Gold
Level Partners: Amazon, Arrow Truck Sales, Daimler Trucks North America,
Expediter Services, FedEx Freight, Great Dane, J.B. Hunt Transport,
Michelin North America, PACCAR, Penske Transportation Solutions, Ryder
System, Walmart, and Waste Management. Follow WIT on Twitter, Facebook,
LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. For more information, visit www.womenintrucking.org or
call 888-464-9482.
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