Trucking HR Canada’s labor market information (LMI) shows that women remain a largely untapped labor pool for trucking and logistics.

While our sector has moved the needle forward in attracting more women, they are still underrepresented. In Canada, the general workforce is split evenly between men and women, but in trucking and logistics, women make up only 16% of the workforce and a mere 4% of drivers.

This year we published industry-leading research on women’s experiences of the trucking and logistics industry and produced tools for employers based on those insights.

Through two surveys and an online focus group, we heard from employers, women with experience in the industry and women career-seekers, many with no experience in the industry.

The results surprised us: the things employers think are barriers are not what women say are keeping them away.

So, what are career-minded women looking for? The top three results in our research are:

• competitive pay,
• job security,
• challenging work.

Our industry has all that and more; 89% of women who work in trucking and logistics say they would recommend it to other women, and when asked what they liked about their jobs in trucking, many cited the very qualities career-seeking women are looking for.  

Nearly all the women in our focus group said their job in trucking met or exceeded the expectations they had going in to the industry.

But barriers remain and must be addressed to continue our positive momentum.

What employers say, what women think

Employers that we surveyed say they think women lack the aptitude or interest in working in the industry. But women say safety concerns are the greatest barrier. That said, THRC has data that shows harassment in our sector is no higher than other sectors – a key point that can help address a key perceptual barrier for career-seeking women.

When we narrowed the focus to women respondents, the gaps became even more clear:

Women outside the industry say fear of harassment and violence is keeping them away,

Women inside the industry are more likely to cite microaggressions and lack of mentorship as issues.

Safety and the perception of a “boy’s culture” can make even the most successful women feel unwelcome.

Addressing these blind spots will help attract and retain women workers – workers employers will need in the coming months and years. Our latest LMI indicates that without support for employers to attract and retain more workers, vacancies will exceed 40,400 by 2030.

What employers can do next

There are clear, meaningful actions employers can take to help women feel welcome and safe:

• Share strategies to improve on-the-job safety and reduce harassment and discrimination.
• Create opportunities for women to advance.
• Find opportunities to make the industry more appealing when compared to other industries.
• Increase awareness about the wide variety of job opportunities.
• Improve work-life balance to support employees with family responsibilities.

THRC can help

We have new tools that can help employers assess blind spots and address cultural and systemic barriers.  

You can join us for our free webinar on this topic taking place June 12 that can help you attract and retain more women in your workforce.

And you can download the research highlights and employer tools to attract, recruit, and retain women here.

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