Women making strides in transportation, supply chain

Women make up 12% of commercial drivers nationwide, according to the 2023 Women in Trucking Index, released this month.

The annual report from the non-profit group Women in Trucking measures the percentage of women represented in roles across the transportation industry, including corporate management, boards of directors, management and supervisory roles, as well as operations, technicians, human resources/talent management, safety, and professional drivers.

According to WIT, the number of women drivers has been growing in recent years, in line with overall industry demand to recruit more drivers to the field.

“Women generally possess strong multi-tasking and [organizational] skills, and typically are safe drivers,” WIT wrote in a statement announcing the 2023 survey results. “For these reasons, along with the need for more professional truck drivers, there has been a significant increase in the number of female drivers for the past five years.”

The 2023 survey also found that nearly 44% of dispatchers are women, indicating the important role women are playing across the industry, WIT said. Other statistics from this year’s survey include: About 32% of women are in C-Suite or executive positions; 37% are in supervisory leadership roles; and 28% serve on boards of directors.

The 2023 WIT Index surveyed professionals from 350 companies of various sizes operating in the trucking industry.

A separate report released in late June reveals that women are making strides across the entire supply chain. Market research firm Gartner, Inc. released its eighth annual Women in Supply Chain Survey, which showed that women now make up 41% of the supply chain workforce, up from 39% in 2022. The advances were especially prominent at the C-suite and executive level, where 26% of roles are now filled by women—an all-time high and up from 19% last year, according to Gartner.

Although there were gains at the top, Gartner said the survey showed that companies are lagging in recruitment and retention efforts for women in frontline roles, with women filling just 31% of those positions.

Gartner partnered on the survey with AWESOME, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization focused on advancing women’s supply chain leadership, and boom!, a U.K.-based global community formed to support and link women in the supply chain profession. Together, they surveyed 225 supply chain leaders for the report.