Webinar hosted by Trucking HR Canada’s Melissa McGregor

Earlier in June, Trucking HR Canada hosted a webinar detailing the Women’s Leadership Accord, a document that represents as shared commitment among trucking and logistics organizations to ensure opportunities for women and other underrepresented groups in the workforce. For more information on their regular webinars, please visit https://truckinghr.com/events/.

Labour Market Update

The trucking industry is one of the top industries in disproportionate gender representation in the workforce. Between the 2016 and the 2021 census, there are 26,235 more women in the trucking and logistics industry; however, the proportion of women in the industry is at 16 per cent, overwhelmingly outnumbered by men. Specifically in the truck driver role, women only occupy about four per cent of the total.

Though the industry continues to diversify, and the industry is trending positively – trucking has outgrown the growth in other sectors and is growing faster than other sectors – there are still aspects to the industry that can change to accommodate a diversified workforce, and to attract a more diverse workforce. Executives in the trucking industry are still worried about labour shortages, especially when it concerns drivers, in this labour market.

Trucking HR Canada conducted a three-part study to pinpoint how the industry can continue to improve. They reached out to career seeking women, employers, and women in the trucking industry to create a focus group. There were about 124 respondents in total. 53 per cent of the career seeking women believed/perceived the trucking industry as an unsafe profession to women – four in ten women believe that trucking is less welcoming to women than other industries. In this study, trucking ended up ranked lowest in terms of overall industry impression.

However, it was clear from responses from this part of the group that once they started to learn about the industry, these career seeking women became more positively aligned with the industry. This indicated that there is a generally negative image about trucking when it comes to women – because those who are in trucking have a much different opinion regarding the industry.

The women already within the trucking industry voiced that what they like most about their jobs is what most women looking for a career want: good pay, job security, a good work/life balance, and challenging and interesting work. These women also indicated that there needs to be more flexibility to help employees to have a better work life balance, and more opportunities for mentorships within the industry to help improve the workforce more.

Thus, the industry must address both the perceived concerns of the industry and the actual concerns within the industry to attract more women to the sector. Trucking HR Canada has been working on several initiatives to address these concerns, including the focus of the webinar, Women’s Leadership Accord.

Women’s Leadership Accord

The Women’s Leadership Accord is a document that represents a shared commitment among trucking and logistics organizations to ensure they are actively engaging in change to increase opportunities for women in the workforce. The vision behind it was to encourage and grow an industry that collectively supports growth, development, and opportunities for all employees – which not only opens more opportunities for women, but all underrepresented groups in the workforce.

The Women’s Leadership Accord is powered by four core principles:

1. Gender equity,
2. Inclusivity,
3. Safety, and
4. Empowerment.

To enact these four core principles, there are five areas of action to take concrete steps:

1. Leadership,
2. Attraction and recruitment,
3. Retention,
4. Health and Safety, and
5. Community Engagement.

The Women’s Leadership Accord is asking organizations to think: What is the status quo, and how can we do better? One of the first steps companies can take is joining the Women’s Leadership Accord.

When signatories are a part of the Accord, they are expected to promote equal opportunities for women and underrepresented groups; uphold a steadfast pursuit of best practices in workplace equity; ensure a compliance with all applicable labour requirements; and hold a commitment to people-first approaches. The document itself is meant to be an aspirational thing for industry leaders no matter where they are in the journey to equality.

Signatories can also earn a Certificate of Excellence by demonstrating meaningful progress toward the Accord vision. TFEs qualify for a certificate by earning top marks in the program’s gender equity assessment, whereas others can complete a quick Pulse Check online to find out if the work they’re already going qualifies for one.

On top of offering this accord, Trucking HR Canada is offering various tools and resources to help organizations achieve the goals of the Leadership Accord:

• Gender Gap Analysis Tool: which includes discussion questions for your team, SWOT analysis, gender equity employee survey questions, and policy review guidelines.
• Women at Work Best Practices Guide: which is a comprehensive guidance booklet that covers attracting talent to your business, effective equitable hiring, prioritizing safety, retention, and paving the way for women’s career success.
• More to come!

Other Opportunities

Trucking HR Canada is also currently developing an Equity Champion Initiative, which will have more information and material releasing this Fall. It is a compliment to the Women’s Leadership Accord and is meant for individuals who are committed to dismantling barriers and supporting growth, development, and opportunities for all people within the workplaces and in the trucking industry. This initiative is meant for the people who are enhancing this commitment every day.

There are also several professional development opportunities in the works to help Equity Champions build skills, including four unique workshops: an intro to equitable workplaces, inclusive communication, championing equitable workplaces, and resilience for equity champions. These are designed to be about 45 minutes a piece.

Keep an eye on Trucking HR Canada’s website and Linkedin for a Fall webinar schedule!