From the road to recruitment: Tammie Dean empowers women in trucking
Key takeaways
- Women make up roughly 15% of roles at Lily Transportation, with initiatives like Lily Ladies actively recruiting female drivers nationwide.
- Tammie Dean’s active CDL allows her to assess drivers firsthand, improving candidate-job fit and recruitment outcomes.
- Lily Ladies offers mentorship, CDL training, wellness tips, and networking to help women thrive in driver and office roles.
For over a decade, FleetOwner has looked at ways to shine a light on how women are shaping the transportation industry in the 21st century. This year, the team profiled six women from different parts of the industry, showcasing their accomplishments and how they have overcome. You can view all six profiles here.
Tammie Dean never expected to join the trucking industry. But after her children were grown, some truck driver friends encouraged her to take a chance and get out on the road. In 2013, Dean went to a truck driver training school in Indianapolis and obtained her CDL.
For several years, Dean worked as an owner-operator. Upon entering the industry, she was surprised to see so few women in the field.
“Over the years, it's been more common for more women to be in trucks and in the industry as a whole, whether they're being dispatchers or administrative assistants or in our onboarding departments, safety departments,” Dean said. “But I never realized how much of a male-dominated field it was until I got into it.”
After several years as a driver, Dean decided to begin recruiting drivers instead of driving herself. She joined Lily Transportation as a recruiting manager in 2018 and has been there since. Dean said having an active Class A CDL was part of her appeal when she applied to Lily Transportation as a recruiter.
Dean's years in the industry have given her industry experience in several areas, such as understanding what women face in the field, working with drivers, driver recruitment, and pairing a driver with a job that's a perfect match, she said.
According to Dean, having a CDL and past experience as a truck driver has aided her in recruitment for Lily Transportation. Dean said that when she conducts road tests for drivers, many are excited to have a female CDL holder actively testing them.
“When I talk to drivers, they think, ‘Oh, you don't know what it is to be in a truck,’” Dean said. “And then I discuss business with them, and they're like, ‘I didn't realize you knew as much about the business.’ When they find out you have a CDL, they're very surprised.”
The best part of recruiting for Dean might be cliché, but it’s true; she loves connecting people to the right jobs.
“We do a lot of contract carrier work, so a lot of our jobs are local positions,” Dean said. “Drivers want to be home with their families. They want good pay, and they want good benefits. Just knowing that I can give them the type of job that they're looking for with the money that they're looking for, and for them to be able to be home with their families is very rewarding to me.”
Lily Ladies: A committee empowering women in trucking careers
In 2018, Dean was brainstorming ways to recruit more women to Lily Transportation and came up with Lily Ladies. According to the Lily Ladies section of the company’s website, Lily Ladies is a committee within Lily Transportation that is committed to empowering women in the trucking industry. Lily Ladies provides a platform for women to share their personal experiences, exchange insights, and educate themselves on the industry.
Members of Lily Ladies have access to educational materials such as CDL, safety, and other training programs; scholarships and grants; and webinars and workshops. Tammie’s Tips, a social media campaign by Lily Ladies, offers weekly advice to drivers on a variety of topics, including safety, fitness, healthy eating, and more.
Lily Ladies members also have access to various mentorship, support, and networking opportunities. In addition, members can request special Lily Ladies gear, including pink shirts, jackets, hats, and more.
This endeavor achieved company and executive support as Lily Ladies saw success. According to Dean, even when company-wide changes were made, executives chose to keep Lily Ladies alive because of its impact.
Dean said Lily Ladies will focus on growth in 2026, including bringing more women into the company, especially in driver roles. In the Connecticut area, Lily Ladies helps Lily Transportation recruit women drivers directly out of CDL programs. These recruitment efforts are slowly spreading nationwide. As of now, about 15% of Lily Transportation's roles are made up of women drivers and women in other staff roles, with a fleet of approximately 1,200 drivers.
When giving advice to the women she’s recruiting who are considering a career in the trucking industry, Dean brings up safety and the importance of proper technology, but she primarily focuses on endurance.
“The trucking industry has been very rewarding for me, so that's one of the reasons why I tell women not to give up if they're passionate about it,” Dean said. “It's easy to give up, but if you get through the hard times on your tough days, you can have a rewarding career.”
About the Author
Jenna Hume
Digital Editor
Digital Content Specialist Jenna Hume joined FleetOwner in November 2023 and previously worked as a writer in the gaming industry. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from Truman State University and a master of Fine Arts degree in writing from Lindenwood University. She is currently based in Missouri.