Rollin' 18 Podcast

Voices from the Road: Women Truckers Share Their Stories

• Walter Gatlin

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Imagine hitting the open road with the wind at your back, navigating through a career path traditionally dominated by men. Join me, Walter Gatlin, on the Rollin' 18 Podcast as we shed light on the underrepresented yet crucial role of women in the trucking industry. Despite making up just 6.73% of the workforce, women are making waves, breaking stereotypes, and driving change. Expect to hear firsthand experiences of long workdays and logistical hurdles, while unraveling the misconceptions surrounding women truckers. We'll also highlight leading companies like FedEx, UPS, and Walmart that are paving the way for gender diversity in transportation.

Our journey doesn't stop there as we dive into the personal stories of resilient women who thrive on the road, balancing the demands of the job with the nuances of family life. Discover how corporate cultures are evolving, providing more inclusive environments and competitive benefits for female truckers. For those looking for career insights, we’ll discuss the importance of passion over paychecks and the invaluable wisdom passed down from veteran drivers. Plus, get the latest on our podcast schedule and where to find more intriguing content. Join us for a ride that promises to be as enlightening as it is inspiring, and remember, keep it between the lines.

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Email me anytime with news, suggestions, and stories at rollin18podcast@gmail.com. God bless, be safe, and keep it between the lines drivers.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Rolling 18 Podcast. This 40-year veteran is here for anyone wanting to stay up to date in the trucking world. Grab your coffee, hop on board and let's get on down the road with Walter Gatlin.

Speaker 2:

Hello drivers and welcome to Rolling 18 Podcast. I'm your host, walter Gatlin. I'm sorry I did not release a podcast yesterday on Friday, like I was supposed to, because, as usual, things go bad at the farm and the place I normally deliver to in Des Moines. They broke down, so all of our products had to be hauled from Waterloo, iowa, to Mason City, illinois, which added another 100 miles to our trip one way. So 200 miles, yeah, it makes for quite a long day, and by the time I get my 12, 13, 14-hour day done, I go home and go to bed and then sometimes I get called in early in the morning to start over again and do other things. So, yeah, I apologize, I'm going to try and keep it at Tuesdays and Fridays. In fact, I am probably going to pre-record on the weekends now. So my weekend'm going to try and keep it at Tuesdays and Fridays. In fact, I am probably going to pre-record on the weekends now. So my weekend is going to be full this weekend. So thank you very much. No, I really love doing what I'm doing. I love Roland 18 podcast. I love the brand that I'm building.

Speaker 2:

If you go to my episode, roland 18, click on the episode. There's a little thing below the description of what the episode's about. It says send me a text. You can click on that. Or it says send me a message one of the two you can click on that put your input in, let me know what you're thinking. I check that stuff every single day. I did put a cell phone out there one time on the bottom of my podcast and it might still be on some of the podcasts that I haven't removed it. I'm not sure. But the problem with that is some nefarious people got a hold of that number Next thing. You know, I was getting quite a few spam calls per day so I said enough is enough.

Speaker 2:

Now, today I'm going to be talking specifically about women in trucking. I have done stories about women in trucking, bits and pieces here and there and stuff, but today is the day we fully discuss and get out of our system the facts that I know to be true about women in trucking. Now TruckerNewscom put out a story called Carriers Others On-Top Companies for Women to Work in Transportation List. Now I have heard 12-14% as far as the percentage of women in trucking. We know that not to be true. It's about 6.73. This story here that I'm going to play excerpts from. I'm going to cut off the story Every time I come to a subject I want to respond on. The story is about four and a half minutes long, but before I do I'm going to read a little bit of this trucker news about the top companies for women to work in, and I'll keep it short because I don't want to plagiarize and steal their story. But I am going to read part of it, and the part I want to read is the top companies that they pick for women to work in transportation and they are Air Products, arcbest, averitt Cummings Incorporated. Daimler Truck North America Averitt Cummings Incorporated. Daimler Truck North America.

Speaker 2:

Eps Trucking System, estes Express Lines, fedex, great Dane International Motors, jb Hunt Transport, kenan Advantage Group, landstar System and I've known a lot of women that drove for Landstar. They really loved it. Most of those are owner-operators. Old Dominion Freight Line, which is the one that says OD, penske Transportation Solutions, peterbilt Motors Company, premier Truck Group, quality Carriers, raul Transport it's R-O-E-H-L. We see a lot of those out on the road.

Speaker 2:

Rxo See a lot of those. Ryder System, schneider, of course, cisco, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, travel Centers of America I had no clue. Ups, volvo Group North America, walmart, wm and, of course, the one and only XPO. You see a lot of XPOs going up and down the road, especially on 80 where I'm at, and up in Iowa they run a lot of doubles out here. Those are the companies they are saying are the greatest for women, and this story is going to talk a lot about money, but it's also going to talk about the importance of when you do start a career in trucking as a woman, that it really has to be in your heart and soul and I think that goes for everybody, every driver out there.

Speaker 2:

It has to be in your heart and soul to be a truck driver. It is a demanding job. In your heart and soul to be a truck driver. It is a demanding job. It's a job that keeps you away from home quite a bit, unless you, of course, are working for, like XPO or UPS, because they will run their route, go to sleep, turn around and come back. So it's a back and forth and some of them even drop and hook halfway through their 10 hour. They'll drop, hook up to a trailer, go in the opposite direction, go back to the yard and that's it. So it's pretty much a day job, except they work nights. But anyway, let's start the story. I did record the whole thing, so I'm going to play it and, as I want to comment, I will stop the story in its tracks and I will comment on that section. So let's get started.

Speaker 3:

Well, for the millions of truck drivers here in America. There's a constant need to move goods, which means a constant workload. I mean, really you don't have to worry about getting a job in trucking right now, but it can translate to really long hours and hard days on the road. But it also relates to a lot of pay, high pay, lots of freedom and women. They're enjoying it just as much as the men.

Speaker 2:

Now I'm going to stop there, because it says high pay, lots of pay. Yeah, we talked about pay on the last podcast last Tuesday, about pay and about what the pay is, averaging about $72,000 to $76,000 per year. Yes, there are people making $100,000 or more and there are people that are making a lot less than $72,000. So it does vary, but the average is still the average and you can't change that because math does not bend on a whim. So the average pay for truckers on the road is about $76,000.

Speaker 3:

Right now, Nancy Liu is live in Commerce, California, with more on this story on how the ladies are loving this job. Nancy, good morning.

Speaker 4:

Good morning, adrienne. They are passionate about trucking and while women are still just about 8% of the workforce, and there they go saying 8%, which I know for a fact.

Speaker 2:

I double checked all the numbers again this week and it is 6.73%. It has fluctuated over the years ever since WIT, which is Women in Trucking, started in 2000, something or other. It was at its lowest, well, about the lowest for that time, which is about almost 6%, maybe just a little below 6%, and then of course it went up to as high as 12.5%, and then now they're saying it's at 8%, but according to my numbers it has dropped below that.

Speaker 4:

Of course, quite a few are now industry veterans, ladies who know trucking can be lucrative.

Speaker 2:

And there are a lot of ladies out there that are veterans, you know, 15, 20, 25, 30 years, even longer. So there's a lot of good female drivers.

Speaker 4:

Women behind the wheel of big rigs are becoming more common, with new drivers earning their commercial licenses every day. For quite a few ladies, trucking has been a solid road to a very good living.

Speaker 5:

I am easily making over $100,000 a year.

Speaker 2:

Now she's easily making over $100,000 a year. Now she's easily making over $100,000 a year, probably working for one of them, strong companies that have very stable routes, like FedEx, ups, xpo, walmart, things like that. It's you know, without her mentioning who she's working for, it's hard to tell, but the majority are not making that.

Speaker 5:

And to make that kind of money as a woman in the trucking industry, I'm just very proud of that.

Speaker 4:

April Coolidge has been trucking for the past decade and loving it far more than her other career in real estate.

Speaker 5:

Truck life has brought comfort, the financial freedom that I have now. You know I don't have to think, oh, maybe I shouldn't go buy that, because money's kind of tight. I'm in the position now that if I want it, I just buy it and go get it.

Speaker 4:

Not only that, trucking is also footing the bill for some extensive renovations at April's house. Some women are driving and thriving so much they've established their own trucking companies.

Speaker 6:

I went from one truck to two trucks. Now I'm up to seven trucks and I'm adding an eighth truck.

Speaker 4:

Tina Peterson is an 18-year trucking veteran who manages her own fleet and is also a contracted driver for FedEx.

Speaker 2:

Now she's adding her eighth truck, but she has a contract with FedEx, so she has a truck company, but it is a truck company on solid ground. It's not like your truck company that has to broker loads from one place to another every single day, seven days a week, trying to figure out which truck is going to go where, where the trucks are, what brokers to use. A lot of people don't have the contracts like GPS, fedex, xpo, things like that. It is rare and you can multiply your trucks by having a very stable, steady contract For the majority of the time. Most people don't get those either.

Speaker 6:

I've put in over 2 million miles behind the wheel. It pays very well and it has. But being a business owner you have more opportunities to make more revenue profit.

Speaker 4:

Women truckers say the profession offers more flexibility than you might think. For April, it's ideal now that her son is grown, though targeting jobs that involve local or regional driving can mean regular hours. As more women enroll in trucking schools, more of the instructors.

Speaker 2:

Now you notice she said local or regional driving. This story is basically with these women talking about the industry. They're basically limiting themselves to local or regional and this story is not about over the road.

Speaker 4:

Are also women.

Speaker 6:

The money out. There is the limit. Is you? What limit do you want to put on that money that you can make? We have people making $150 a year now.

Speaker 2:

And making $150 is unusual. It can be done, but that would be specialty loads, that would be critical loads, that would be loads that are amazingly complicated but simple because of the fact they're on a small route or they are on a particular job, to where they have to run those trailers, whether they're empty or loaded. And one example would be Nissan down in Tennessee. They have parts that have to be moved because they manufacture cars and whether there's one engine on the trailer or the trailer's full of engines, that trailer has to go the minute it's scheduled to go. So, yes, it can be done, but it is extremely rare.

Speaker 4:

Unexpected. Women truckers are often asked about safety, since the industry remains dominated by men.

Speaker 2:

Now, safety is not really an issue and this woman will explain that in a minute because most men, and I would say at least 95, 97% of men, do not have an issue with women being on the road and they do not have nefarious reasons for looking or for following women and things like that. Women are very safe in truck stops. In fact, they're probably safer in a truck stop than they would be just about anywhere else, Because I know for a fact that if a woman was to be accosted or treated poorly in a truck stop and there were men standing around, they would pounce on that perpetrator.

Speaker 5:

Men have looked out for me more than they've ever thought to ever take advantage of me.

Speaker 6:

Just use your common sense, just like you would anywhere else, Even you know going to the parking lot at the grocery store. It's like the same thing. You're always aware of your safety.

Speaker 2:

And that would go for all of us. You know, it doesn't matter who you are. If somebody sees something that you have and they want to take it from you and they're bold enough, brazen enough, ignorant enough and stupid enough to try it, knowing that you might be unarmed or whatever, they're going to do it, whether you're a man or one, that's just the logistics of an animalistic person that doesn't get along well in society with normal people.

Speaker 6:

But I've never felt scared or threatened at all. In general, I think the trucking industry is full of gentlemen.

Speaker 4:

And while not all truckers are rolling in big money, the opportunity is there.

Speaker 2:

There's the key, and while not all truckers are rolling in big money, the opportunities are there and they are there. You know, like I said, regional and local is your best bet when you want to make tons of money. Unfortunately, they're very hard to get because most people want them. So you end up out on the road, you know, dealing with brokers, dealing with all kinds of delays because of shipping and receiving on a dedicated run, such as XPO, walmart. Everything's scheduled. Like I said before, the freight's got to go one way or another UPS, all of them. So you're going to be on a more timely schedule and your hours are not going to be wasted waiting. Your hours are going to be used driving down the road and delivering that load.

Speaker 4:

For long-term, very successful careers, Adrienne.

Speaker 3:

Nancy, how many more women does the trucking industry expect to see in the future?

Speaker 4:

Well, women are hoping they're going to see hundreds of thousands more. There is a women in trucking association. It was established in 2007. They estimate there are already about 260,000 women out there on the roadways. But they have recruitment programs. They have mentoring programs. They really want to see more women getting into the business. But don't get in for the money. Trucking is a life and you really have to be passionate about it as a career choice.

Speaker 2:

See, that's the key. Don't get into it for the money. It is a career choice, it is a life. You have to be a truck driver in order to succeed in the trucking business. It is a whole different ballgame than clocking in somewhere, going to work inside a building, driving a forklift, whatever, even a yard dog, than it is being out in the open road having to make you know 90% of your own decisions, especially when you're rolling down the road, especially when you come into a fuel stop. That's chaotic things like that. Everything has to correlate with each other perfectly.

Speaker 4:

To go into trucking and then become a veteran to make that big money. It's out there.

Speaker 3:

Thank you so much, nancy. It's so inspiring and I'm really loving hearing the stories of women who are saying you know what, like that one woman said in your story, they've been all gentlemen. And then others who say it was my husband. It was my boyfriend who welcomed me into this industry. It really has seemed to be an open place for hiring.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, people looking out for each other.

Speaker 2:

And it's always been like that, even back in the day when most women didn't drive and it was 99% men, we all looked out for each other. In fact, we did so better in the 70s, 80s, 90s, even the 60s, than we do today, because a lot of times a personal breakdown. Of course, most of them don't have CBs anyway, so you can't get on the CB and say, hey, driver, you okay. But with the advent of the cell phone and communication devices that we have today, most people don't need to talk to anybody else. They call the boss and say, hey, what do I do? I'm broke down on the road. Where do I go from here?

Speaker 2:

Now the list that I was reading from the story on truckernewscom about the companies. There's a whole boatload of more companies. They named some overall top 2024 top companies for women to work in and they added on to the list ADM Trucking, aim Trucking Solutions. You know things like that Overall. You know they're putting a whole list on here and they're basically saying these are a number of characteristics that dispatch the companies recognized on the list, according to Brian Everett, which is the publisher of Redefining the Road and that's a good publication, by the way, if you get a chance and you get bored sometime and you want to look at something interesting. You might get addicted to it. Redefining the Road is great content. You might want to check that out. But it says that these characteristics include corporate cultures that foster gender diversity and I'm going to go with male and female differences Competitive compensation and benefits, flexible hours, work requirements, professional development opportunities and career advancement, because we know that women have a different responsibility than men do out in the road.

Speaker 2:

A lot of them go out there and they still have children at home. So what do they do? Well, most of them work local, but there are some out there that drive over the road and get home every couple of weeks. I talked to a woman pulling a hopper bottom the other day and this was just like Wednesday or Thursday, and she had mentioned the fact that her kids are almost grown, but they're still under the age of 18 and she still goes out two, three weeks at a time and she goes. You know, being a single mother of two kids, I need to make good money and that's what she does. But who takes care of the kids? I mean, you said single mother of two and I didn't get into all that because I didn't want to offend anybody. I just thought in my own head okay, you're the mom. Obviously, mom is out on the road two or three weeks at a time. Who takes care of the kids? Is it a boyfriend? Is it the grandmother, the grandfather? So those are questions we don't really get answers to anymore. But that could be the number one reason why a lot of women are not hitting the road because their children aren't old enough or grown enough or moved out or whatever it is to take. And by the time they get to the age where the kids are moved out, are they really interested in spending the type of energy it takes to learn how to be a trucker?

Speaker 2:

Because I started in my early twenties and there was a lot to absorb, a lot of information to get in my head. Most of the training I had. I never went to a school. Like I said, I started in 84. I never went to a school but I had the old-time truckers out there. They taught me everything I knew. Some of it was wrong, most of it was right. Today things have changed. I absorb the good change. I keep the old-school stuff that I've learned. That's good for me and good for the trucking business. I keep that with me and I mix both of them together and it seems to work out fine with me. I hope you enjoyed this podcast, this Rollin' 18 podcast, which was scheduled for Friday but is now Saturday. I will put out another one on Tuesday and one on Friday If you find that one hasn't popped up. You know I've run into an issue. So thank you for listening. God bless, be safe and, as always, keep it between the lines. Driver.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to Roland 18 Podcast. Please visit Walter's podcast site at Roland18Podcastcom or his social media sites such as Instagram, facebook and TikTok. All links are in the description.