It’s Time for Women in Transportation
When the pandemic first hit the United States, it wiped out millions of jobs, particularly among women who found themselves back home and coordinating everything from elderly parent medical issues to home-school activities for kids.
One year later we have made great strides to bring back many of these jobs. But sectors that have traditionally offered a larger pool of jobs for women, such as hospitality, travel, and catering, were particularly hit hard by the pandemic.
While many women are looking to restart or advance their careers, they might find some of the best opportunities in trucking and transportation, which has traditionally offered careers that have been filled predominantly by men. The industry look vastly different from just a few short years ago.
A significant driver shortage remains in the trucking industry. Women could have a significant impact in helping to reduce the shortage, and more companies are looking to hire women to fill these roles. Driver opportunities abound for women, in addition to a plethora of other career potential.
Gender-diverse opportunities are growing every day inside the corporations that operate within the trucking industry. The transportation industry has shed its years-ago perception that it was filled with old men driving dirty trucks. The trucks themselves are now state-of-the-art in many cases, and the companies that oversee a multitude of operations are brimming with careers in fields such as finance, asset management, procurement, legal, technology, data and analytics.
Women in particular are playing a leading role in shaping the technology that’s being used to advance today’s transportation industry.
Commitment to Diversity
For companies outside the trucking industry, embracing new recruiting channels can be key to generating candidates from all backgrounds as the job market evolves. In that process, companies should highlight their commitment to diversity to demonstrate their intent around hiring.
Also, building partnerships with professional associations such as Women In Trucking and academic institutions can aid in recruiting a diverse pool of job candidates.
The opportunity to build a professional career leveraging my data and analytics expertise was exactly what I hoped for, but I didn’t initially think I’d find it in the transportation industry. Forward-thinking companies in the industry see the value in this type of gender-diverse skillset, where my ongoing analysis, reporting, and statistical modeling helps the company provide custom analytic reports for our clients and bank partners to establish an optimal fleet modernization strategy.
I began my career in the consumer goods sector, but quickly realized my skillsets were better suited for a B2B industry such as transportation where advanced business intelligence and data analytics are being leveraged to help large enterprise-level companies make decisions that improve their bottom line.
A growing number of companies in the trucking and transportation industry are realizing the unique skillsets that women offer. Organizations like Women In Trucking also have been instrumental in advocating for women to learn more about opportunities in the industry.
America’s economy needs the transportation system more than ever today. As more gender-diverse career paths open up inside transportation companies, these organizations will unlock even greater potential for growth through the advancement and empowerment of a more diverse workforce.