Why more women are taking trucking jobs
The number of women in the trucking industry is growing.
Since 2010, the amount of female truck drivers has increased immensely -- by 68 percent, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. And equal pay for drivers, regardless of gender, is purportedly a big reason why the job has become more enticing to women.
"There are many different types of driver pay in the industry, including by the mile, per load, hourly, and even salary in some cases," ATA economist Bob Costello told the Journal. "In all cases, there is no distinction between male or female. If you go to a fleet and ask how much drivers are paid, it is by experience level, routes, etc., not gender-specific."
As one female driver from Missouri, Deb La Bree, said in the story: "The steering wheel knows no gender".
Another reason why women are gravitating more toward trucking is that the job has become somewhat more female-friendly, for various reasons, mostly due to modernization -- including better transmissions on certain kinds of trucks that allow for a less-grueling ride over long distances and the industry often no longer needing truckers to load and unload the cargo they're carrying.
"New technology and equipment make truck driving a job that's more geared toward women," Lindsey Othmer, a truck driver for XPO Logistics from Fife, Washington, told the Journal.
However, women still represent less than 7 percent of truckers.