What organizations are there for women in the trucking industry?

Women are drawn to the trucking industry for a variety of reasons, similar to their male counterparts: the call of the open road, the opportunity to travel and the freedom that trucking brings.

However, there is one reason that stands out for many women in trucking: there is equal pay for both male and female drivers. Truckers are paid by the mileage, regardless of any other factor such as gender, race, ethnicity or religion.

As Ingrid Brown, a trucker who has been driving for over three decades, pointed out to USA Today as she grabbed the steering wheel of her big rig, “This doesn’t have a clue what gender is holding it.”

While all truckers face similar issues like; home-sickness, long hours and poor lifestyle choices, women in trucking have to deal with additional concerns like sexual harassment, safety and industry stereotypes.

Recognizing that, several nonprofit organizations have formed to help give women support in the male-dominated industry such as:

• Women in Trucking Association
• Real Women in Trucking
• S.H.E.Trucking

Women in Trucking Association

This non-profit organization was formed in 2007 by Ellen Voie who became the President and CEO two years later. Women in Trucking is one of the most well-known organizations for women truckers and hopes to increase the number of women in positions of power in the trucking industry. 

They want to encourage women in trucking, either through driving or logistics and eliminate the obstacles that they face. They have two annual awards, “Influential Woman in Trucking” and “Distinguished Woman in Logistics” to recognize and honor women. They also established the Women in Trucking Foundation in 2011 to raise funds and give out scholarships for safety, driving, technical and leadership.

Real Women in Trucking

Real Women in Trucking started in 2010, but became an official organization in 2013.The original aim of the group was to make the trucking industry aware of the non ideal conditions for women drivers.

It has been transformed into a group dedicated to promoting safe truck driver training for women and being a support network for them. They also have a mentorship program for new drivers in the industry and only endorse companies and services that encourage and support women drivers. While they were originally created to support women, they want the industry to continue making improvements for both genders. 

S.H.E. Trucking

This organization was started by Sharae Moore as a private Facebook group called Sisterhood Helping Empowerment in Trucking or S.H.E. Trucking for short. This group was formed to create a community for women in trucking, where they could help and support one another. It currently has almost 6,000 members and remains a private Facebook group. 

Moore has also created the first clothing brand for women truckers called S.H.E. Trucking Apparel. Moore created the brand when she saw that there were no women trucker t-shirts, only shirts for trucker wives. She felt that it was important for women truckers to have t-shirts of their own.

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