Fontana: Women truck drivers satisfied with the job, yet safety concerns persist

Recently, I read some good news about women truck drivers. According to a recent survey by Lance Surety Bonds, 85% of the women drivers responding to the survey said they would recommend trucking to other women. In the survey, women respondents said they were satisfied with being truck drivers and were less likely to regret their choice than male drivers.

Truck driving pays well compared to other types of jobs, which may account for the high level of satisfaction. The women in the survey also said they like the sense of independence that comes from being a truck driver. Women also said they were satisfied with the work-life balance that comes with being a trucker. That likely has to do with the fact that, in general, the trucking industry is seeing a shorter length of haul as more and more drivers—including women drivers—have expressed a desire to be home more often. Fleets have responded by shifting to regional haul and local haul where possible. This shift makes trucking more attractive to women who tend to have primary responsibility for children and the home and cannot take jobs that keep them away from home for too many days.

One area where women drivers still express concern surrounds safety. Feets are investing in safety equipment in their trucks, which addresses one aspect of safety, but there remains work to be done in other areas, such as sexual harassment and physical safety. Thirty percent of the women drivers surveyed indicated they had been victims of sexual harassment. Only 31% of the women responding to the survey said they feel safe sleeping in their truck at night.

As fleet leaders, we must step up and make sure our policies governing harassment and discrimination are as tough as they can be, and we must take decisive action to investigate reports of sexual harassment by other employees and even customers. Of course, we want male drivers to feel safe as well, but the reality is that women are more likely to be affected by sexual harassment than men.

While more women are becoming truck drivers, we still have work to do to encourage them to join our fleets. According to the 2024-25 Women In Trucking Index, women make up only 9.5% of professional drivers. We should all be increasing our efforts to attract women to our fleets if for no other reason than because studies have shown that women truck drivers tend to have fewer accidents, violations, and safety incidents. In fact, two studies from Auburn University have found that not only are women truck drivers safer but also more likely to follow the rules.

Another good reason to increase the number of women behind the wheel is that women tend to stay on the job longer. A survey found that women truck drivers are 60% less likely to quit their jobs in the first year, and fleets with women drivers reported 95% lower employee turnover.

As an industry, we have made great strides in attracting women as truck drivers but also into other areas of our businesses. We must continue our efforts in this area to make sure trucking is a safe and welcoming environment for women.