{"id":52583,"date":"2017-02-23T17:21:25","date_gmt":"2017-02-23T23:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=52583"},"modified":"2017-02-23T17:21:25","modified_gmt":"2017-02-23T23:21:25","slug":"us-female-truck-drivers-shortage-sexism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/us-female-truck-drivers-shortage-sexism\/","title":{"rendered":"Opportunities open up for women truckers, but their numbers remain small"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Shen Lu<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you ask Cania Eubanks, 32, what it\u2019s like to be one of the few female truck drivers on the road, she doesn\u2019t mince words:\u00a0\u201cIt is a dirty man\u2019s job.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Eubanks, who lives on Chicago\u2019s South Side when she\u2019s not driving, has adapted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve found my own world in it. It\u2019s great,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Attracted by the financial independence and personal freedom of being a trucker, women are smashing stereotypes and establishing fulfilling careers on the open road. But their numbers remain relatively small, despite the need for more drivers amid a national shortage and more acceptance from potential employers.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Women made up just 6 percent of the 3.5 million sales workers and truck drivers employed in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a>, a\u00a0scant 1.1 percentage-point increase compared with\u00a02008<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Bureau of Labor Statistics categorizes the occupation — along with dozens of other skill-based jobs such as roofers and carpenters — as nontraditional for women.<\/p>\n

Life on the road<\/h2>\n

Eubanks became an over-the-road truck driver, meaning she drives long distances, last year. Before that, she worked for about10 years for the federal government doing background checks and fingerprinting. She relishes the freedom of being a driver.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in complete control of what I do, of how I make my money,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Cania
Cania Eubanks typically drives 11 hours out of a 14-hour work day. “I\u2019m a straight driver; I do not stop.” (Shen Lu\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Eubanks drives Midwestern regional routes for Phoenix-based Swift Transportation Company. She is often on the road for four to six weeks at a time. She makes about $5,500 to $6,000 a month, less than what she used to earn working for the government, but she has no regrets. Switching careers was the best decision she has made, she said.<\/p>\n

The only trade-off is home life. The mother of two daughters, a 7-year-old and a 1-year-old, said she hates to be away from family, but “life has to go on.”<\/p>\n

Her husband quit his job to support her career. With assistance from her mother, sister and brother, they make things work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just I\u2019m not physically at home with my kids every night,\u201d she said. \u201cI do video chat with them daily, twice, three times a day,\u00a0<\/b>and I am so financially responsible for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Carol
Carol Nixon at work. (courtesy of Carol Nixon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Carol Nixon, 47, of St. James, Mo., has been on the road since 1990. Over the past five years, she has worked as an over-the-road driver for Wal-Mart Stores Inc.<\/p>\n

Nixon also cherishes the financial independence she has had since age 20, when she became a driver. She raised and financially supported her now-30-year-old daughter while working as a driver. And the plus is she gets paid to see places across the country, she said.<\/p>\n

Typically, Nixon is on the road for six days and then rests for eight days. She works less than five months a year, taking home $65,000.<\/p>\n

Her husband is also a driver, but he returns home every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no way he can do what I can do,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve never hesitated to get in a car to go somewhere for an adventure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Truck drivers get paid by mileage and stops, depending on the distance covered. The median annual pay for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in 2015 was $40,260, 11 percent higher<\/a> than an average person\u2019s annual income, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one career where women may not be treated equally but are paid equally,\u201d Nixon said.<\/p>\n

Stigma and sexism<\/h2>\n

Though it\u2019s a good-paying job, truck driving still comes with stigma and, for women, gender stereotyping that amounts to sexism. Male drivers simply don\u2019t see their female counterparts as equal.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t look like a driver,\u201d is what Nixon often gets. \u201cI ask what a driver is supposed to look like,\u201d Nixon said. \u201cThey\u2019d say, \u2018I don\u2019t know. Not like you.\u2019\u201d Nixon said she then ends the argument with a \u201cthank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eubanks adopts a tit-for-tat approach when male truckers taunt her with “trash” talk.<\/p>\n

“The bigger their trash talk is, the bigger my trash talk gets,” Eubanks said. “Once they realize that I am just as big of a trash talker as them, they usually shut up.\u201d<\/p>\n

What frustrates her more is the assumption that she expects special treatment as a woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came into this industry, I came in with a competitive attitude, that I can do what you can do,\u201d Eubanks said.<\/p>\n

For the most part, Eubanks and Nixon keep their heads down, focus on being good drivers and ignore the daily sexist comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have those issues that a lot of drivers complain [about],\u201d Eubanks said. \u201cI am presentable. I keep myself clean. I do what I\u2019m supposed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, the women say, they win the respect from the male drivers by getting the work done well and independently. Some men, Eubanks said, find women attractive for being competent in what they do.<\/p>\n

However, Eubanks was told that many managers don\u2019t work with women drivers, who bear a reputation of being difficult and hard to manage.<\/p>\n

Women tend to feel like they represent their gender group in any male-dominated business, said Robert Nelson<\/a>, a sociology and law professor at Northwestern University who studies gender and economics, and constantly worry about the messages conveyed through their appearances and behaviors.<\/p>\n

Subtle, yet crude, sexual harassment often occurs, Nelson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should not underestimate that,\u201d he added. \u201cIn situations where women are a very small minority, whom do they turn to? A lot of the behavior of women in this context would probably be defensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why women?<\/h2>\n

Carriers over the past few years have been trying to recruit more female drivers and create a more friendly working environment for them. Some even have programs to help women succeed within the company.<\/p>\n

\u201cTen years ago you never saw that,\u201d Ellen Voie, president of Women In Trucking Association<\/a>. \u201cTen years ago they\u2019d say, \u2018We don\u2019t care if they are male or female.\u2019 Now carriers are saying, \u2018Wow, we want more female drivers because they actually are an asset.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Women are \u201cperfect candidates\u201d to drive trucks, a stressful job that demands much patience and critical thinking, said Cody Edwards, Eubanks\u2019 driver manager at Swift. Edwards works with three female drivers on a daily basis but is in contact with many more. He said he is delighted to see more of them coming into the industry, albeit at a slow pace.<\/p>\n

The demand for female drivers comes at a time when the U.S. is facing a serious trucker shortage. The trucking industry faces an immediate shortfall of 200,000, according to FTR, a freight transportation forecasting intelligence company, and the situation isn’t projected to get better.<\/p>\n

\"US-trucker-shortage-shen-lu\"
The United States has long faced a truck driver shortfall. (Shen Lu\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

John Starks, chief operating officer at FTR, said the improving economy demands more truckers to haul goods, but the current labor force — dominated by white men in their 50s — is getting old and leaving the industry. At the same time, young men don\u2019t seem to be interested in taking over the road. This hurts the economy, Starks said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey need to find qualified drivers,\u201d Starks said. \u201cIf they limit themselves to a quarter of the labor force, it\u2019s going to be a struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further, closing the gender gap is cost-effective for employers, Nelson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDiscrimination is costly,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cIf you can tap into a larger pool of workers, then the pressure on wages and labor costs will not be as high.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greater female labor force participation leads to higher economic growth, but that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean they have to go into every sector, said Stephan Klasen, professor of development economics at the University of G\u00f6ttingen.<\/p>\n

Women also have proven to be safe drivers. Both Nixon and Eubanks take pride in the fact that they have better driving records and habits than many of their male counterparts.<\/p>\n

Data from the U.S. Department of Transportation<\/a> shows that disproportionately more male truckers than female die each year in vehicle crashes. Men typically drive more miles than women and more often engage in risky driving practices, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they flip me off, it\u2019s okay with me,\u201d Nixon describes how easily male drivers get mad at her when she drives at the speed limit. \u201cI\u2019m not going to do something dangerous and crazy because I want to get home to be with my family and I want them to get home to be with their family, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Woman power<\/h2>\n

Eubanks is 5 feet 4 inches tall. Her trailer sits at 13 feet 6 inches high. Nixon is at 5 feet 6 inches, and her empty tractor and trailer weigh 34,000 pounds.<\/p>\n

Patience — a huge amount of it — critical thinking and a good attitude weigh much more than physical strength in a job that is essentially mentally fatiguing, people in the industry say.<\/p>\n

\u201cDriving is a lot of common sense, and there are a lot of unpredictable factors in it, from timing, time consuming to multitasking,\u201d Eubanks said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about driving and listening to the radio.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edwards calls Eubanks a \u201csuperstar.\u201d She is more trusted than many of his experienced male drivers, and would be more likely to get assigned to high-priority loads than others, even as a relative newbie to the job, Edwards said.<\/p>\n

Eubanks and Nixon take pride in being who they are.<\/p>\n

Nixon always wears makeup and keeps her hair long. Eubanks gets periodic manicures and pedicures. She decorates her truck and trailer with everything pink. She takes issue with pink tools not being available for female drivers at truck stops.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_5026\"
Cania Eubanks’ pink collection in her truck and trailer. (courtesy of Cania Eubanks)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Keeping themselves and their trucks clean is extremely important to Nixon and Eubanks as they try to shed the \u201cnasty, dirty\u201d truck driver image.<\/p>\n

Equal future?<\/h2>\n

The overall working environment for female truckers has improved over the years, Voie said. Truck stops are now selling gloves that fit women\u2019s hands — though not pink. Hair driers are available for women in some shower rooms at truck stops, and locks have been put on the doors for female drivers\u2019 privacy.<\/p>\n

Eubanks and Nixon hope to see more women on the road. Eubanks is training female students. She has mentored four over the past year. Her message to them?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can do it and we can do it better,\u201d Eubanks said. \u201cGet out here and don\u2019t be afraid to get dirty a little bit, because at the end of the night, when you take your shower, that dirt flows right off of your body.\u201d<\/p>\n

A little more gender diversity in this business is good for all, Nixon said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf other women see women succeed in this industry, they are more likely to want to join the industry,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cSo i think it\u2019s good for women, and it\u2019s good for the industry as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nelson said he doesn\u2019t see a dramatic transformation of gender diversity in the truck driving business, although small increases will occur as a market process — for example as a response to the driver shortage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stereotyping and discrimination are not going to go away, especially in a field like trucking where the management and coworkers are just not going to be very sympathetic,\u201d Nelson lamented.<\/p>\n

Photo at top: Cania Eubanks poses by her truck. (courtesy of Cania Eubanks)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Shen Lu If you ask Cania Eubanks, 32, what it\u2019s like to be one of the few female truck drivers on the road, she doesn\u2019t mince words:\u00a0\u201cIt is a dirty man\u2019s job.\u201d But Eubanks, who lives on Chicago\u2019s South Side when she\u2019s not driving, has adapted. \u201cI\u2019ve found my own world in it. It\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":379,"featured_media":52604,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,3516],"tags":[192],"class_list":["post-52583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-winter-2017","tag-promo"],"yoast_head":"\nOpportunities open up for women truckers, but their numbers remain small - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/us-female-truck-drivers-shortage-sexism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Opportunities open up for women truckers, but their numbers remain small - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Shen Lu If you ask Cania Eubanks, 32, what it\u2019s like to be one of the few female truck drivers on the road, she doesn\u2019t mince words:\u00a0\u201cIt is a dirty man\u2019s job.\u201d But Eubanks, who lives on Chicago\u2019s South Side when she\u2019s not driving, has adapted. \u201cI\u2019ve found my own world in it. 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