The American Transportation Research Institute is kicking off research to identify obstacles women face in becoming truck drivers — as well as strategies for overcoming those obstacles.
Women make up just 8.1% of all U.S. truck drivers and only 2.7% of over-the-road drivers, according to the American Trucking Associations’ nonprofit research group.
“In response, the ATRI Research Advisory Committee prioritized this new women-focused research initiative at its 2023 Annual Meeting,” the group said in its announcement.
ATRI’s efforts, led by Research Analyst Abbigail Huffman, will include national surveys and focus groups with women who drive trucks, women who formerly drove trucks, and different groups of women “to identify both issues and motivators for women who are considering careers in trucking.”
The research group will collaborate with truck driver training schools to identify recruitment and training issues unique to women. It also will survey motor carriers with substantially more women drivers than typical fleets.
“Additional outreach will focus on women executives at motor carriers in order to understand issues and opportunities beyond truck driving,” ATRI said.
The ATRI findings will add to a sizable and growing amount of research dedicated to recruiting more women into trucking. The Women In Trucking Association has been pursuing the same goal since its founding in 2007, publishing white papers on gender bias and harassment, same-gender training policies and the lack of truck parking.
Women In Trucking has reported a higher percentage of women in the industry than ATA, estimating women make up over 12% of drivers, according to its 2023 Women in Transportation Index.
Sexual harassment — a primary barrier to growing the number of women working in trucking — goes unreported as much as half the time because victims do not believe reporting incidents will make a difference, according to a study released by the federal Department of Transportation.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Robin Hutcheson highlighted the need to make the industry safer and more equitable as key priorities during remarks at Women In Trucking’s Accelerate! conference in Dallas last year.
She described the DOT’s findings as “disturbing and unacceptable.”
Hutcheson’s boss, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, further described the industry’s failure to recruit more women drivers as “mathematical madness” in remarks to trucking leaders at ATA’s Management Conference & Exhibition in San Diego last year.
“Shame on us if we allow it to continue to be the case that we’re leaving talent on the table because driving is not considered safe, or considered welcoming, or any of the other barriers,” Buttigieg said.
