More women join trucking industry as technicians

Women continue to make strides in the trucking industry, with many gaining traction as equipment technicians. That’s according to data from the 2023 Women in Trucking Index, released earlier this year by the Women in Trucking Association (WIT).

The news comes as the trucking industry celebrates National Technician Appreciation Week (NTAW) this week, an event sponsored by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and its Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC).

According to the WIT Index, more than 7% of technicians working for corporations with for-hire or private fleets are women, up from less than 4% in 2022. The figure is rising alongside the number of professional women drivers in the industry, which reached 12% this year.

“A major concern of the trucking industry is the widely reported shortage of professional truck drivers, who play a vital role in the U.S. economy by safely transporting the nation’s freight,” Jennifer Hedrick, WIT’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement announcing the survey’s findings. “But drivers cannot complete that mission when their trucks are in the shop or broken down on the side of the road—whether it’s caused by a problem with the engine aftertreatment system, an electrical issue, or a problem with the truck’s brakes. That’s when it becomes abundantly clear that skilled truck maintenance technicians are indispensable in keeping professional drivers productive, on the road, and delivering on-time.”

Released this past summer, the WIT Index also showed that nearly 44% of dispatchers are women; 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.

National Technician Appreciation Week follows TMC’s Fall Meeting and National Technician Skills Competition in Cleveland, and is designed to “celebrate the hard work and commitment of the professional technicians of the trucking industry.”