PLOVER, Wis. – A survey of 426 female truck drivers conducted by the Women in Trucking Association (WIT) showed that more than 60% reported feeling unsafe at least once in the past year, with 20% reporting they had been threatened by a weapon.
The survey also showed that 4% of women drivers said they had been raped, and 46% reported that they had an unwanted physical advance made toward them.
WIT president and CEO Ellen Voie shared the survey’s findings at a recent White House Roundtable discussion on trucking industry issues.
“We need to create a safer environment if we want to bring more women into this industry,” Voie said. “Our research has shown that women rate their level of safety as a female driver at 4.4 on a scale of 10. This is unacceptable, as we should all feel safe in our work environment.”
The session also included an announcement to kick off a 90-day challenge to accelerate the expansion of registered apprenticeships. In addition, a task force to attract more women into the industry will also be launched, along with a task force to investigate predatory truck leasing arrangements.
The session was hosted by U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Secretary of Labor, Marty Walsh and White House Economic Council Director Brian Deese.
Voie was one of 17 invited attendees. There were 10 carrier representatives who shared their efforts to attract a more diverse driver force, including veterans, younger drivers, more racially diverse drivers and women, according to a WIT news release.
The Department of Labor and Department of Transportation will be holding listening sessions with professional drivers, industry and labor leaders and advocates in the next 30 days.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Ellen Voie testified against women in a class action discrimination case EEOC v New Prime and in a sexual assault case Jane Doe v CRST. She has called companies to have women fired who have stood up to her and asked her hard questions about sexual assault in truck driver training fleets that are her sponsors. She declined to sign a petition demanding immediate action on sexual misconduct in truck driver training. If she has data about violence against women in the trucking industry, she should make it public so it can be used in current litigation going on right now against one of her corporate sponsors. Withholding it and using it only for PR stunts does not help women who have been affected by sexual harassment and sexual assault in the trucking industry.