The great thing about Truck World is the people. The trucking industry has the best people involved in it. We also have the most varied group of people. Almost all nationalities have people in trucking and all educations. We of course have people with limited education, make a great financial living in this industry and we have very well educated people making a fantastic living. There is an absence of one group though. Women!

We don’t have a great deal of women in the industry. Yes I know that some of the offices have lots of women, but when you look at key positions or behind the wheel, women are small percentage.

About a year ago Ellen Voie decided that she was going to change that. Ellen started “Women in Trucking“.

Their mission statement says it all, “Women In Trucking was established to encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry, promote their accomplishments and minimize obstacles faced by women in trucking”.

Last September at the “Recruiting and Retention” conference, I joined WIT. Why would a male join this group? 1^st off, because Ellen told me I should. She can be very persuasive.

Her reasoning was that the removal of many of the barriers that are before women in the industry would also help men. Such as, I asked? Ellen gave me several examples, I’ll give you 2: better lighting in truck stops would help both men/women and a more ergonomically designed truck would also help us both. So I joined and became part of the 25% of male members. In joining I also became part of the 12% Canadian membership. Jane Gunn of Sunbury Transport is on the board of directors.

In the 1^st year of this organization they have reach more then 1000 members. They have also garnered support from a great many of the companies from the trucking industry and allied trades.

I encourage you to visit the “Women in Trucking” website and see if it makes sense for you to join it also.