Women Behind the Wheels

Blog

The transport industry is the backbone of Australia with whopping more than 224 billion tons of freight being transported by the road in 2019 to 2020.

‘This is a man’s world, but it would be nothing without a woman or a girl. ‘ – a song tells. In an industry where male dominate, we are not often used to seeing women in a truck or loading a trailer.

Historically, the transport industry has been dominated by men. They are center stage and are seen as the ‘key-decision makers.’ Transport has typically been a rough type of work, and as a result, the industry is too often perceived as “man’s work”.

Only 2.9 percent of truck drivers are women according to 2021 figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and women make up around 27.4% of Australia’s transport workforce. The gender pay gap in the transport sector is higher than the national average – 15.9% as against 13.9%

“You deserve to be here. You deserve to exist. You deserve to take up space in this world of men.” – Mckenzie Lee
The lowering of employment barriers to entry in the transport industry is supported by the government and they are now creating initiatives to increase the number of women working in transport.

Initiatives include the ‘Women in Transport’ www.womenintransport.gov.au/ movement and iMoveAustralia Program which aim to address participation, remuneration and the % of women in senior leadership.

It is skewed to say that women don’t deserve to be in the transport industry because they do not have the technical skills. Not only have women shown men that they can reverse a b-double trailer, but a woman’s soft skills enable her to handle and carry responsibility with confidence and power.

The female truck drivers are testimony that they too are able, capable and ready to take risks and challenges of the road. They can survive physical challenges and they have the ability to find easier ways, not to mention: to change tires, refill fuel tanks and restrain loads.

They deserve to be here, the women behind the wheels

Other interesting but shocking facts include:

Australia’s transport sector is the third most male dominated sector by employment behind construction and mining.
Women make up around 27.4% of Australia’s transport workforce.
Only 4.5% of transport CEOs are women – well below the Australian average of 20%.

Image source: https://www.nhvr.gov.au/files/2020-01/otr-wita-launch-outside.jpg