Truck driving has traditionally been a men’s arena with no participation from the women’s side. The vogue of patriarchy was never allowing women to try their hand at any such male-dominant profession.
However, with the passage of time, the situation is on the way to a better chance. Just like each profession is opening up to women equally as it opens up to men, so is the trucking jobs. There are a record number of women truck drivers hitting the roads daily, with equal enthusiasm as men have traditionally been.
With the growth of capitalisation, the demand for everything from a napkin to a car is skyrocketing, and so is the demand for truck drivers. There has been a shortage of truck drivers in the country and therefore, the opportunities are falling in the lap of traditionally overlooked sections of society, women.
The advent of pandemic led to a disproportionate hit of layoffs for women from different sectors like service sector jobs. This further led to the opening up of opportunities for them in the trucking industry.
Here are the top five reasons why women are switching to become truck drivers:
High pay and high demand factors:
- The demand for truck drivers is rising by a large amount. Due to the heavy workload on trucking companies, they are hiring truck drivers at a very high rate.
- Such a high demand for the workers generally gives the wage bargaining power to the workers themselves.
- In the trucking industry too, due to this power and endless demands for the workers, the pay has risen by multi-folds in the past few years and is expected to rise even further in the near future making trucking jobs a lucrative career option.
- In addition, there is a shortage of men in the industry. This led to the opening up of opportunities for their female counterparts.
- Due to the pandemic, women lost their jobs higher in number than men, so women job seekers have risen in number.
- This interdependence of women and the trucking industry has led to a rise in the number of women truck drivers.
- Women are also receiving high pay in the trucking industry. This makes them more independent and comfortable in this sphere.
The desire to change:
- Several women truck drivers are pioneers of change in the trucking industry.
- Truck driving is especially a very attractive job for women who are keen drivers.
- With the desire to go on roads and witness the country through roads, women truck drivers are inspiring other women to become part of the trucking industry.
- The overwhelming number of men truck drivers is no longer a binding factor on women to stay out of the trucking industry.
- With access to equal opportunities, women are seeking to become truck drivers.
- Gone are the days when trucking was considered as unsafe for women, today, women are filling the gaps in the industry and are driving equally safely.
The freedom:
- The truck driver jobs gives the worker freedom to work on his or her own terms.
- The truck drivers are very much independent in choosing their availability and the kind of what they wish to do.
- This freedom is attracting women truck drivers to work on their terms with working flexibility and access to several lucrative benefits.
- The freedom that women were craving for so long, is finally achievable through trucking jobs.
- The truck driving jobs may seem very difficult for women especially due to their biology, but it is not so. Women are equally capable of handling trucks as men.
- Studies even show that women are safer drivers than men. This is another inspiring factor for women truck drivers.
Ease in entrepreneurship:
- Trucking jobs are not only limited to driving trucks by working under a company, there are several other lucrative options too.
- With an owner operator job, any truck driver can start their own business of trucking and work on their own term.
- Women truck drivers can even lead a driving fleet just like men in the industry.
The emergence of companies hiring women truck drivers:
- The most important driving factor for women in the trucking industry is the emergence of trucking companies that hire men and women with equal enthusiasm.
- Earlier, there were several restrictions and reservations about the driving skills of women. However, they no longer exist.
- Several companies are even focussing on how they should attract women truck drivers through various lucrative benefits just like they attract men truck drivers.
- With this enlightenment, about 10% of all truck drivers in the US are women and the number is still growing.
These were the top five reasons why women are seeking to become truck drivers. Due to endless opportunities and scope in the trucking industry, young women are considering it as an opportunity to taste freedom and break the stereotypes. With women inspiring each other to take up jobs in other sectors, women in the trucking industry are also keen on inspiring other women to enter the trucking industry and earn equally high as men.
Women are not limited to homes anymore, they are becoming pioneers of change for themselves. With the ease to enter the professional world of trucking, women truck drivers are enjoying all the benefits and freedom that they deserve. The advent of pandemics too gave several opportunities for women to try their hand at a job that they were never seen doing before.
Many women truck drivers aspire to bring around a change in the working conditions of the trucking industry to make it more inclusive, safe and profitable for women as well. The trucking industry seems to adapt to these changes. Women don’t only belong in the kitchen, they are out on the roads enjoying the taste of freedom and independence.
With high pay and equal opportunities, trucking jobs in Fort Lee NJ are becoming very lucrative for women. The number of women in the industry will rise to manifolds in the next few years. With women filling the gaps in the trucking industry, the workload is also decreasing and a new way of opportunities is coming up.
