Page 29 - Newcom

By Sonia Straface
TORONTO, ONTARIO
Anyone in trucking will tell you that without drivers and technicians, the in- dustry would cease to exist.
So it was only natural that at Truck- ing HR Canada’s second annual Women with Drive Leadership Sum- mit March 3, a panel was dedicated
to those female truckers and techni- cians who keep the industry moving. The panel, titled Women on the Road allowed real Canadian drivers, trainers – and a tech – to express their views on the trucking industry.
Panelists included Jennifer Duval a driver at Kriska; Helen Thorpe, a corpo- rate trainer at Seaboard Transport; Sa- mantha Sharpe, a technician appren- tice for Nova Truck Centres; and Alison and Katrina Theriault, team drivers for Clarke Road Transport.
Truck News’ James Menzies moderat- ed the panel.
Because the industry is looking for more female drivers and technicians, Menzies asked the women on the panel how they believe trucking companies and shops can be more inviting to wom- en looking for a fulfilling career.
All the women agreed, above all else, if you want to attract more wom- en into your company, make sure you treat them the same way you’d treat
any other employee.
“Kriska never made me feel any dif-
ferent being a woman in the industry,” said Duval of her employer. “If anything, I felt more welcomed for being a woman in the trucking industry.”
Similarly, Sharpe, who worked for nine years in child care before becom- ing a technician apprentice, said what attracted her to Nova was how wel- comed she was as a woman.
“There was never any special treat- ment and I was immediately welcomed with open arms,” Sharpe said.
Alison Theriault, on the other hand, said she was turned off my companies who refused to employ her simply be- cause she was female. When she first be- gan in the industry in 2008, she applied to almost 300 driving positions and was turned down from almost all of them.
“Starting out, I didn’t get hired be- cause I was a woman and they told
me so,” she said. “They would tell me
I could find a nice man, I could marry him and then I’d be allowed in the truck with him. I was screamed at.”
She said she still keeps those compa- nies – who turned her down because she was a female – in mind and often sees their trucks rolling down the highway.
Panelists also said they are looking for a company that has things that every driver – male or female – is looking for:
The Women on the Road panel. (L-R): Samantha Sharpe, Alison Theriault, Katrina Theriault, Helen Thorpe, Jennifer Duval and mod James Menzies.
TRUCK NEWS
April 2016
29
View from the front lines
Female drivers, trainers and technicians speak out about their experiences in the industry
good equipment, fair pay and flexible hours.
Duval said above that, she has stayed with Kriska because they motivate her to be the best driver she can be, and that is something she values.
“I’ve worked for Kriska from day one. They took me out of driving school,” she explained. “Kriska is like my second family. They inspire me and they make me feel good about what I do. The pay rate is competitive. They have safety bo- nuses. There are a lot of things to strive for month by month to get that reward.”
Duval and Thorpe added that hav- ing a female trainer in the fleet is also important in the effort to recruit more women.
“When I joined Kriska, I know I was more than thrilled to be getting a fe- male trainer myself. It made me feel more comfortable,” Duval said. “And now when I get a female trainee, I know when she leaves me, I’ve boosted her confidence up.”
Though Alison Theriault is not a for- mal trainer at her company, she said she is single-handedly trying to recruit more women into the trade by reaching
out to other women on the Internet. She said she scours online forums and per- sonal advertisements ands e-mails with women who are curious about driving professionally.
On the other hand, the women on the panel expressed that nothing will make them run from a company faster than if there are pay discrepancies, if the communication between manage- ment and drivers is non-existent, and if the equipment is less than satisfac- tory – all of which are red flags for male drivers as well.
Thorpe said that in addition, not only do individual companies need to change their policies, but the indus- try as a whole needs to evolve to at- tract drivers. She said some drivers
she trains are completely unaware of the reality of the industry and are na- ïve as to what trucking entails. She said this could be resolved if the industry were to adapt to the different lifestyles people want these days.
“I think the industry does need to change to accept these younger people by giving the option of shorter hauls and pre-scheduled trips,” she concluded.
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