It seems appropriate to talk about women in trucking, given that NACFE’s Rachel Ellenberger, industry engagement manager, and Kim Ehrenhaft, design director, were at the recent Women in Trucking (WIT) Accelerate! Conference. I’ve attended the event a few times and have always been impressed with the energy and passion of the attendees, who are predominantly women.
During the lead-up to Run on Less–Messy Middle, I had the chance to interview Ellen Voie, the founder of WIT. She has had several jobs in the trucking industry, and it was during her stint with Schneider that she realized that “The trucking industry wasn't doing enough to attract and retain women. And part of my job at Schneider was to figure out how to bring in non-traditional groups. I started focusing on 'what is it women are looking for?'”
She found that women look for different things than men do when choosing a carrier to work for. “They look for good maintenance, they look for newer trucks, they look for a good safety record.”
She also says that data has shown that women are more concerned about how well a company is treating the environment, as well as how it treats people. She told me that, “Women are going to look for companies that are more environmentally aware.”
In 2007, she formed WIT with the mission of encouraging the employment of women in the industry, to address obstacles that might keep them from succeeding, and to celebrate their success. That mission has never changed.
In the 17 years that she was at WIT, she says the association grew to 8000 members in 10 countries. Back in the beginning, Voie says there was no data about the number of women in the trucking industry, so WIT began collecting data, and when the association was first started, about 3% of drivers were women. Today, that number is closer to 12%.
But WIT did not only focus on women drivers, it also focused on women in all areas of the industry, including as diesel technicians. “I'm so proud to see so many young women becoming diesel techs because it's a great career, and they can do it. It's more technology now. It's not about cranking wrenches like it used to be.”
She says there are also more women in leadership roles in the industry. “You're seeing more visible women. You're seeing more women starting trucking companies, more women taking leadership roles. The industry has become more gender diverse.”
But she acknowledges that there's still a way to go, and WIT continues to work to attract more women across all areas of the industry.
To help continue to encourage women to enter the trucking industry and to share her story, Voie wrote a book, From Dispatcher to Disrupter: One Woman’s Journey To Drive Gender Diversity In the Trucking Industry.
The book takes readers through Voie’s mission to empower women drivers, shift the industry’s perception of the role women can and should play in trucking, and her fight for safety, ergonomics, and inclusion. It’s available on Amazon and is quite a story.
I’ve been in the trucking industry for a long time, and I have had the opportunity to meet some really amazing women who are leaving their mark on the industry. We interviewed a number of them during the lead-up to Run on Less – Messy Middle, and I am confident that when we embark on the next Run on Less event in 2027, I will get to meet even more smart women who are passionate about the industry that I love.
Thanks to Voie and WIT for the work they continue to do to encourage women to see trucking as a viable career option and a place where their voices will be heard.
