Women In Trucking Association, Inc. (WIT) is an American non-profit organization[1][2] which focuses on the employment of women in the trucking industry[3][4] and addresses obstacles that might keep women from entering or succeeding in the trucking industry. It was founded by Ellen Voie[5] in 2007.[6][7] Jennifer Hedrick was named the CEO after Ellen Voie.[8][9] The organization focuses mainly on women who are already a part of the industry or have an interest in it and works as a support network with 5,500 members in which 600 are drivers and others are corporations.[10][11][3][12] WIT headquarters are located in Plover, Wisconsin, United States.[13][14]

History

Ellen Voie founded the Women In Trucking Association in 2007.[15] She is the holder of a commercial driver's license and has been advocating for the empowerment of women in the trucking industry since 1980.[16] Voie felt the need for such an organization while working as the Manager of Recruiting and Retention Programs at Schneider National.[17]

Activities

Since its founding in 2007, the organization has worked to raise awareness and encourage women to become truck drivers. In 2008, WIT held its first reception at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Kentucky. Ellen Voie, as founder, later became the President and CEO of the organization and Leigh Foxall was named chairwoman.[18] In 2010, WIT held its first annual “Salute to Women Behind the Wheel”[19] and that same year gained a monthly feature on SiriusXM's Freewheelin’ show.[20]

Mark Rousseau joined the board as the first male director in 2010. The board of directors is composed of industry leaders from major corporations such as Walmart, Daimler, Bendix, C. H. Robinson, Arrow Truck Sales, Peterbilt, Ryder System, Michelin, J.B. Hunt, FedEx and more. In the same year, Women In Trucking founded a scholarship program to strengthen education in the commercial transportation industry.[18][11]

In 2012, WIT was recognized by the White House as a “Transportation Innovator Champion of Change!”[21][22] In 2014, WIT designed a curriculum and created a transportation patch for the Girl Scouts.[23] They also created a Girl Scout Patch and distributed it to the troops and held the first Girl Scout event, in Chicago, to educate young women about potential careers in the transportation industry.[7][24] In 2014, the Women In Trucking Association also started a monthly segment on the Dave Nemo Show.

In 2012, Redefining the Road, became the association's official member publication.[25]

In 2015, Women In Trucking then established the “Distinguished Woman in Logistics” award sponsored by TMW Systems and also created the WIT Index.[25] It also held the first Accelerate! conference and expo in Dallas, Texas.[26] Mary Aufdemberg also became the new chairwoman of the non-profit in March 2015 after Phyllis Cochran and Foxall.[11][27]

In 2016, The Women in Trucking Association partnered with the National Transportation Institute for their WIT Index, to monitor and quantify the number of women drivers and management at organizations nationwide.[28][25] They partnered again in 2019.[29]

In 2016, WIT partnered with University of Wisconsin – Stout to release a recruiting guide for corporate members, “How to attract female drivers.”[21][30]

In 2018, SiriusXM Road Dog announced that it would be launching a new radio show called, Women In Trucking, hosted by Ellen Voie to promote women employment in the trucking industry.[31][32] The organization also introduced a 13-inch tall truck driver doll, Clare, which is sold at TA/Petro truck stops, HABAUSA and on Amazon.[33][34][35] They recently also announced a collaboration with Expediter Services to create 150 women-owned businesses in transportation.[36]

In 2019, Laura Roan Hays became chairwoman. In the third quarter of 2019, Kellylynn McLaughlin was named the Women In Trucking Association's first ambassador.[37]

WIT works with The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).[38]

In 2023, Jennifer Hedrick was named the CEO and WIT's president after Ellen Voie.[39][40]

Partners

The organization is partnered with Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems, Daimler Trucks North America, BMO Transportation Finance, Expediter Services, Great Dane, J.B. Hunt Transport, FedEx Freight, Michelin, Peterbilt, and Ryder Systems, Inc., and Walmart.[41][42][43][44]

In 2010, Frito-Lay became Women In Trucking's first Gold Level Partner.[44]

References

  1. ↑ Houlihan, Kathleen. "Six Ways Business Leaders Can Inspire Next-Generation Workers". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  2. ↑ Reed, Phil. "Kirkwood Community College hoping to recruit more women to become truck drivers". www.kcrg.com. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  3. 1 2 "Why millennials should start considering truck driving". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  4. ↑ "ATRI: Recruiting Female Drivers Could Make Trucking Safer". Trucks.com. 2019-03-14. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  5. ↑ "How a day in a UPS big rig opened my mind to trucking". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  6. ↑ "Oh, the Places WIT Goes! – Women in Toys". 3 April 2018. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  7. 1 2 Stern, Morgan Brennan,Karen (2015-12-16). "The next big thing in US trucking: Female drivers". CNBC. Retrieved 2019-06-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ "Women In Trucking Association announces new CEO". fleetequipmentmag.
  9. ↑ "What's next for Women in Trucking under new leadership? NTI interviews incoming President & CEO Jennifer Hedrick about the group's barrier-breaking mission". The National Transportation Institute. 15 June 2023.
  10. ↑ "Ryder on Driver Shortage: Finding and Recruiting Talent in the Millennial Era". www.ajot.com. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  11. 1 2 3 McGinnis, Paul. "HT Alum Ellen Voie's Second Half Calling to Empower Women in Trucking Industry". The Halftime Institute. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  12. ↑ Kakuni, Amy (March 10, 2020). "Superior Court of the State of California - Case number RIC 1808034" (PDF). p. 279.
  13. ↑ "Meet the truck driver steering women toward their dreams". TODAY.com. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  14. ↑ "Women are increasingly joining the deadly world of truck driving, confronting sexism and long days". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  15. ↑ "Opening up the roads: interview with Ellen Voie – DC Velocity". www.dcvelocity.com. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  16. ↑ Team, Convoy (2018-07-24). "Empowering Women In Trucking with Ellen Voie". Convoy. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  17. ↑ "Women in Trucking". Donlen. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  18. 1 2 News, Truckers (18 April 2015). "Aufdemberg becomes third chairwoman of Women In Trucking". www.truckersnews.com. Retrieved 2019-06-28. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  19. ↑ "Salute to Women Landing Page". www.womenintrucking.org. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  20. ↑ Staff. "Women In Trucking to Host Reception at MATS, Appear on Sirius XM Show". www.truckinginfo.com. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  21. 1 2 Success, Insights (2017-04-19). "Ellen Voie: Leading Women Empowerment in the Trucking Industry". Online Business Magazines | Business Magazine. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  22. ↑ "Voie Chosen as One of '30 Most Inspirational Leaders in Business'". Truckstop.com. 2017-06-01. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  23. ↑ Connley, Courtney (2018-06-18). "Just 6 percent of America's truck drivers are women—here's what it's like". CNBC. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  24. ↑ "Some heavy industries make push to hire more women". WINK NEWS. 2017-06-12. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  25. 1 2 3 "Women on the rise in trucking and the supply chain". FreightWaves. 2018-06-04. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  26. ↑ "UHS will be an exhibitor at the Accelerate! 2015 Conference & Expo, sponsored by Women In Trucking Association". Unify Health Services. 2015-09-18. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  27. ↑ Elkins, Ken (Apr 1, 2015). "Local truck manufacturing exec named new chairwoman of Women in Trucking". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  28. ↑ ntiAdmin (28 December 2016). "Women In Trucking Association partners with The National Transportation Institute to gather and distribute its WIT Index | National Transportation Institute". Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  29. ↑ "Women in Trucking survey trucking companies for job trends". Commercial Carrier Journal. 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  30. ↑ "Women In Trucking Association Selects MindShare Strategies To Support Organization's Growth". www.ajot.com. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  31. ↑ "SiriusXM Road Dog Adds 'Women In Trucking'". All Access. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  32. ↑ "Trucking Industry Seeks to Recruit More Women". Reno Personal Injury Lawyer. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  33. ↑ "Women in Trucking Clare Doll". HABA USA. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  34. ↑ "Her message: You can do it". Big Rigs. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  35. ↑ BY JON O'CONNELL, STAFF WRITER. "Data shows women are all around better truck drivers, so why do so few do it?". www.citizensvoice.com. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  36. ↑ "150 women-owned business challenge reaches mile marker 50 with new trucking start-ups". Fleet Owner. 2018-09-19. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  37. ↑ Says, Sylvia (2019-10-07). "Giving voice to women in trucking". FreightWaves. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  38. ↑ "Regulators plan to assess violence against female and minority drivers". FreightWaves. 2019-07-23. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  39. ↑ "Women In Trucking aims to dispel misconceptions about industry". Yahoo Finance. 19 July 2023.
  40. ↑ "Women In Trucking Association names Jennifer Hendrick as incoming CEO". TheTrucker. 19 January 2023.
  41. ↑ "Trucking Association Launches Partnership to Get More Women In the Driver's Seat". Associations Now. 2017-11-21. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  42. ↑ "Waste Management joins Women In Trucking Association to promote industry diversity". Waste Dive. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  43. ↑ "The Women in Trucking Association announces new silver level partner". Recycling Today. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  44. 1 2 "Frito-Lay, Walmart re-up with Women in Trucking (September 01, 2010)". Truck News. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
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