Teaming up with WomenInTrucking.org
As a BedInABox® company who prides ourselves on manufacturing American-made semi truck and RV mattresses, SleepDog® Mattress is working to team up with the Women In Trucking Association. As a new corporate member of the Women In Trucking Association, our next steps are to become an official Women In Trucking Member Approved provider so that we can provide better, safer sleep to more professionals across the trucking industry.
What Is The Women In Trucking Association
The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) is a non-profit organization with the goal of building relationships in the trucking community by bringing more gender diversity into the transportation and logistics industry. Their mission is to encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry, to promote the accomplishments of these women, and to minimize challenges faced by the women who work in the industry.
As a 501(c)(6) professional/trade organization, Women In Trucking regularly educates policy decision makers through “ride alongs” with female drivers and by participating on an Advisory Board that reports back to Congress on industry gender diversity issues. In doing so, they make strides to create a more diverse environment with more growth potential for women in the industry.
What Are The Benefits To Becoming A Women In Trucking Association Member?
There are currently over 5,000 members in the Women In Trucking community with membership opportunities for both businesses and trucking professionals. SleepDog® has joined the Women In Trucking community as a Corporate Member, which allows us to:
- Immerse our company into the trucking community to better understand the transportation and logistics industry
- Utilize the Women In Trucking community and resources to align our company and our products with the WIT mission
- Actively engage with other members of the community to foster industry-wide relationships
- Offer exclusive WIT member discounts that can be found on ‘Members Only’ pages and the WIT e-news
If you are a truck driver or would like to pursue a career in the transportation and logistics industry, you can join the Women In Trucking community, too! Benefits of becoming a member of the WIT community as a trucking professional include:
- Access to a career center with job opportunities within the trucking industry
- Option to participate in mentorship programs to connect with other professionals in the community
- Transportation training to strengthen your team or your business
- Access to the WIT exclusive blogs and webinars
- Opportunity to engage in open forum discussions with other community members
Diversity In The Trucking Industry
Despite the significant progress that organizations such as the Women In Trucking Association have made, the trucking industry is still male dominated. Research by Freightwaves found that male employees make up around 90% of the transportation industry while female employees only account for 10%. The Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) also found that while women make up 50% of the working population, the transportation industry attracts less than 15% of the entire female workforce.
Ellen Voie, the founder of the Women In Trucking Association, has said that “In the past, women didn’t think about it [the trucking industry]. Women have to see other women doing it before they start thinking about it.” Voie also noted that Women In Trucking research has shown that 83% of women who join the industry, join because of a family member or friend. Both of these statements emphasize the importance of creating visibility and access to other female professionals who are currently in the industry as an integral component of recruiting more women into the trucking and transportation industry.
While there are many benefits to improving diversity in the trucking industry and bringing more women into the field, one of the most notable benefits is that having more women in the trucking industry can make it safer, too. Research indicates that male truckers have an 88% higher risk of receiving a reckless driving conviction as opposed to their female counterparts, meaning female truck drivers may take routes more carefully.
Challenges Involved In Diversifying The Trucking Industry
A mission as important as the mission at Women In Trucking brings with it the challenges you might expect in a male dominated industry:
Comfortable Equiptment
In the past, female drivers would need to put pillows under their seats to see over the dashboard or put blocks on the pedals in order to reach them. Voie explained that trucks are usually built to the 90th percentile male, and not with female drivers in mind. This makes comfortably driving a challenge for women in the industry. Now, manufacturers are working to make vehicles more ergonomic for women.
Attracting Interest To The Industry At An Early Age
For both males and females, it is crucial to connect with kids at a young age to help them understand that transportation is a valuable industry. If children are introduced to the importance of transportation and logistics at too late an age, it becomes significantly harder to draw any interest in the trucking industry.
Women In Trucking is working on getting in front of young girls with its female truck driver doll and a supply chain activity and coloring book for children. Getting young girls interested in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) will also help expose more females to the industry.
At Sleepdog® Mattress, we encourage all truck drivers, transportation professionals and logistics companies within the trucking industry to join the Women In Trucking community. Together, we can make trucking a safer and more diverse industry.
