By Willa Dwyer

By all accounts, women make excellent professional drivers. I happen to think that compared to men, women are easier to train, better at paperwork, gentler on equipment, more polite, and take fewer risks. So, how do you find and keep these mythical creatures?

1. Be Approachable. Your company needs somebody who can talk with women, not at them. Translation: have a two-way conversation, don’t just read from the company handbook. Listen. What are their needs and fears? Don’t lie.
2. Update Your Attitude. When they walk into your offices, men know what to expect more than women do. Start a discussion about who and what the company is and how it functions. Be authentic. Get a better fit between the driver and the company at the outset. Cultivate a work ethic that welcomes women and in which they feel safe and respected. By bringing women into a male-dominated culture, many men will discover that they can be more than just “one of the guys”.
3. Create A Safe and Presentable Work Environment. Women will note disorder and disrepair. If you can’t do more, patching holes and a new coat of paint are quick and inexpensive investments. Exteriors and parking lots must be well lit.
4. Have a Female Support System. Most women who become drivers leave within two years. Let them know that their driving experience could lead to advancement within the company. Have visible and approachable women on various parts of your team.
5. Have Female Appropriate Amenities. Ideally, there would be separate male and female facilities, but if shared, safe, clean and private will do. Get rid of the mould. Provide hooks to hang up towels and clothes.
6. Remember Health and Wellness. This industry’s lifestyle is killing off its drivers 10 to 20 years ahead of the non-driving population. And women are more health-conscious than men. Set up a small exercise room. Nothing fancy – but something. Provide a clean stocked kitchen. OTR drivers should be supplied with a fridge in the truck. And do you even have a benefits package?
7. Shape Up Your Iron. An investment in ergonomic equipment today can save thousands in injury claims and missed workdays. Offer your drivers options: Automated transmissions are reducing the wear on aging drivers’ joints. Women’s shorter limbs necessitate an adjustable seat, steering wheel, and well-designed reachable dash. Keep equipment well-maintained.
8. Recruit Creatively. Most women who have the skills to be drivers have probably not thought about driving as a career. Get your message out to women who’ve shown interest in non-traditional activities like sports, autos, security, military and paramilitary. Don’t forget wives, girlfriends, mothers, daughters, nieces, and aunts of drivers.
9. Join Women in Trucking. Men already make up 16 percent of its members. 
10. Check Out CTA’s Blue Ribbon Task Force. This spring, the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) presented its statement of core values on how to begin resolving the driver shortage. It’s a good place to start. Women will not stay in this industry if they are not treated with consideration. Inject some modernity into trucking, and a wider audience might notice.

The great majority of women drivers have held different jobs before coming to trucking. They are both older and have more world experience than the typical young man starting out. They will judge your company with a more critical eye and will be wary of corporate cultures not attuned to women.

— Willa Dwyer has six years OTR experience and is a driver with Normandin Transit in Napierville, QC. With a background in product design, she had a career in management, in both the retail and manufacturing sectors, before obtaining her Class 1 license. She says she loves trucking.