Truck driving: A diverse, but not inclusive, industry

By Shefali Kapadia | The Inside Lane

Women make up only about 10% of truck drivers, by some estimates. Several organizations have sprung up, focused on addressing female drivers' unique needs and concerns on the road. 

One of those organizations is REAL Women in Trucking (RWIT), founded by truck driver Desiree Wood after she saw firsthand the many dangers on the road. We caught up with Wood, president of RWIT, to learn her story, her top tips and what the public gets wrong about female drivers. 

 How did you get into the trucking industry?

I started truck driver training in 2007 to reinvent my life. I sought a job that valued hard work and offered stability. However, I quickly realized modern-day truck driver training is unsafe and jeopardizes highway safety.

This prompted me to expose these issues. In 2009, I was interviewed by Dan Rather in an episode called "Queen of the Road," which launched my advocacy work and the REAL Women in Trucking organization. Our aim is to support those who love being truck drivers but face challenges that impact their ability to remain in the industry like discrimination, sexual assault and sexual harassment in the workplace. (You can watch the full episode of Dan Rather Reports here.)

What's the best investment you've made?

Continuing my education. While I love being a truck driver, my advocacy efforts stalled with trucking industry insiders. To make progress, I needed to connect with researchers, academics, and labor advocates focused on issues like labor abuse and gender-based violence and harassment in the workplace. This required returning to college to finish my degree virtually while recovering from a fall that shattered my kneecap. This opened many opportunities for me to become a paid speaker, and consultant, become an appointed committee member on prominent transportation research board panels and to be able to enter the realm of transportation planning in the freight sector.

What's a tech tool or app you can't live without?

RWIT members use a safety tracking app to share secret free truck parking spots and to keep tabs on each other. This way we can also meet up for coffee when our paths cross.

Another app that helps tremendously is the aerial view feature of Google Maps to identify shipper/receiver facilities before I arrive to see the correct entry gate for big trucks, the best route in, and the driver reviews that are left in Google to see what to expect of detention times at the place, how they treat drivers, if you can park onsite and if they let you use the bathroom. Many do not let truck drivers use their bathrooms.

What are the biggest things the public gets wrong about female truck drivers?

The biggest misconception is that women are new to truck driving. Women have been truck drivers since around 1918 when freight trucks were first developed for WW1. We have women truck drivers in our organization that have been driving for over 57 years, one that just retired who is in her eighties. Truck drivers are very diverse, but the industry is not inclusive. The industry tends to want to portray images and narratives about truck drivers that do not reflect the majority of the population of truck drivers. 

Another misconception is that women are smaller than men, and they need trucks to be designed for them. This actually really makes women truck drivers angry when they hear things like that. You can either do this job or you cannot. We don't need special lady trucks to get the job done. That is an insult to the many women who have been driving since before there was power steering and before they even had women's restrooms at truck stops. We do what it takes to get the job done. You are either that type of person, or you are not, regardless of gender.

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The Inside Lane is curated and written by Shefali Kapadia and edited by Bianca Prieto.