Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/715752
www.jobsfor teams.com JOBS for TEAMS | 36 Women In Trucking Continued This means that men and women must share bunk space while out on the road. Private activities such as changing clothes, personal hygiene and other in- timate routines are no longer secretive. This could create a very uncomfortable environment for a woman who is al- ready struggling to learn how to drive a tractor-trailer in heavy traffic, shift gears, and back into tiny loading docks. If the woman is married or has a close relationship with someone who might not understand the situation, this could create even more stress during her training. Recently a new female recruit con- tacted me about her training experi- ence at a school. She was expected to sleep in a bunk-house type environment with the male students at the training facility. She was not told about this in advance. Instead, the school recruiter simply told her she would have lodging during her stay. When she arrived at the school, she was shown her bunk in the sleeping quarters occupied by all men. She of- fered to stay in a hotel at her own cost, but was told this was not an option. She left the school and found another place that didn't expect her to sleep in a room with men. "The importance of allowing female trainees to obtain a private hotel room for themselves even if it means paying out of pocket without reim- bursement (is important)," she said. "If I was given this option before arriving or once I arrived, I would very likely have stayed for training and be currently em- ployed there despite the vague descrip- tion of boarding I was given." While I was familiar with opposite- gender training while on the road, I was surprised to hear that some schools treat all of their students the same, to the extent they have to sleep in the same room. Are we really attracting women into the trucking industry with policies like these? The Women In Trucking Association Facebook page has nearly 10,000 folks who share their expertise when asked. I created a poll and asked the female drivers to respond to the following question. "Did any of you have to share sleeping space with males during train- ing, not in the truck, but at the school or carrier's facility?" I was surprised to learn that ten per- cent of the respondents were provided a shared sleeping facility with men. Some of the drivers stated the names of their training provider. Many of these are members of Women In Trucking As- sociation. This is truly unacceptable and could be a reason some women won't suc- ceed as professional drivers if they are concerned about their safety or their personal items in a non-private area. Even the men agreed. A male driver commented about sharing a space with anyone because he's "nervous (about) them stealing his belongings." Another male driver said his wife would not have accepted the arrangement. We have a long way to go before we've addressed the challenges women face as they consider a career as a pro- fessional driver. However, personal safe- ty and privacy while in training should be the standard for all drivers. Men and women are not the same, and carriers that ignore gender differ- ences are not creating a positive envi- ronment for the demographic we are trying to attract. If you are a training facility that expects all of your students to share sleeping quarters, we ask you to consider whether this would be ac- ceptable if that woman was your own daughter, wife, mother or sister. If not, then change it.•