Plover, WI:  One of the top challenges for the trucking industry in the coming year will be to deal with the capacity crunch. The goal is to attract and retain qualified professional drivers. One way to do this is to increase the percentage of women who currently comprise less than six percent of the driver population, despite a presence of over fifty percent of the workforce as a whole.
The Women In Trucking Association, Inc. (WIT) has partnered with many of the industry’s top authorities to compile a guide on how to attract female professional drivers. This 23-page publication includes research on what women look for in a carrier and what attracts women into the industry.
Research conducted by graduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Stout show the top five job attributes cited by female drivers. The students also studied recruiting strategies and what works best for various age groups of the female respondents. They identified how certain words and graphics attract a women’s attention to a recruiting ad.
In 2014, WIT held a recruiting ad contest with the winning ad chosen by female drivers.  The comments were especially insightful and provided greater understanding of how potential female drivers perceive the ad’s descriptions and graphics.
Information from industry sources include data from Staymetrics and Strategic Programs, Inc. that contributed data about driver pay and turnover relating to gender. The guide includes comparisons between female drivers and their male counterparts.
“This publication is the result of years of research and extensive data collection from our industry partners and the students at UW-Stout,” said Ellen Voie, WIT’s President and CEO. “Our mission at Women In Trucking incudes increasing the percentage of women employed in trucking, and drivers are an important part of this goal. This guide breaks down the recruiting aspect into why, how, and where to recruit female drivers.”
The Women In Trucking recruiting guide itself was designed by Woolly is only available (free) to corporate members of WIT. Contact WIT (WIT@womenintrucking.org) to request your copy. For information about the publication or to join the nonprofit association visit www.womenintrucking.org.
Women In Trucking Association, Inc. is a nonprofit association established to encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry, promote their accomplishments and minimize obstacles faced by women working in the trucking industry. Membership is not limited to women, as 16 percent of its members are men who support the mission. Women In Trucking is supported by its members and the generosity of Gold Level Partners: Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems, Daimler Trucks North America, BMO Transportation Finance, Great Dane Trailers, J.B. Hunt Transport, Ryder System, Inc., U.S. Xpress, and Walmart. Follow WIT on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

For more information, visit http://www.womenintrucking.org or call 888-464-9482.