PLOVER, Wisc. – The number of women employed in the trucking industry is rising.

That’s according to the recently updated Women in Trucking Association’s (WIT) index. Recently, WIT partnered with the National Transportation Institute (NTI) to monitor the percentage of female drivers and leaders in the trucking industry.

Last year the NTI added two questions to their list of research responses to assist WIT in tracking the percentage of their driving feel that is female as well as the percentage of their leadership team that is comprised of women. In January of 2017, WIT and NTI reported that women comprise more than 7% of over-the-road drivers and 23% of management.

These numbers contrast with the department of labor which tracks women employed as “driver/sales workers and truck drivers.” The NTI figures track over the road drivers specifically.

This year, the NTI found the percentage of female drivers increased from 7.13% to 7.89% at the end of 2017. The number of women in management has increased as well, from 23% last year to 23.75% at the end of 2017.

In addition, in the past two years, there has been a 19% improvement in those companies tracking the percentage of female drivers and managers. This means that more companies are actually monitoring these figures and can benchmark with other carriers in the industry.

For those companies who participated in the research, over 25% of the carriers surveyed reported nearly a thirty (28.7) per cent average increase in their female driver population.

“Confidentiality is guaranteed and is also why we’ve been a trusted resource in the transportation industry since 1995,” said Leah Shaver, COO at NTI. “We do not share WIT Index participant data or name with anyone, without their permission.”