By Dave Elniski (he/they), Ph.D. student, CTSP, CRSP, ATCL

As is surely no surprise to the readers of Women Driving Change, women are very underrepresented in Canada’s trucking industry as truck drivers. Less then 2% of Canadian truckers were women in 1991, and the percentage of women truckers today is still low.^1,2 This table below provides truck driver information for each province and territory, information I took from the Government of Canada’s Job Bank website on September 13^th, 2025, as part of my ongoing Ph.D. work.²

Province or Territory	Overall Number of Truck Drivers	Percentage of Full-Time Truck Drivers	Percentage of Year-Round Truck Drivers	Percentage of Self-Employed Truck Drivers	Percentage of Women Truck Drivers	Percentage of Truck Drivers with Post-Secondary Education
British Columbia	38,700	92%	61%	26%	<5%	32%
Alberta	40,950	91%	54%	25%	<5%	32%
Saskatchewan	10,650	92%	56%	21%	<5%	29%
Manitoba	14,900	94%	59%	24%	<5%	37%
Ontario	111,750	92%	56%	32%	<5%	39%
Québec	74,600	86%	56%	18%	6%	49%
New Brunswick	8,100	94%	57%	15%	<5%	36%
Prince Edward Island	1,400	X	52%	12%	<5%	32%
Nova Scotia	6,900	94%	60%	11%	<5%	41%
Newfoundland and Labrador	2,550	X	48%	10%	<5%	48%
Yukon	300	88%	47%	11%	11%	28%
Northwest Territories	450	89%	63%	7%	9%	28%
Nunavut	350	83%	65%	X	10%	18%
Total for Canada	311,600	X = no data

Let’s say, for the sake of simplicity, that the overall 2025 Canadian trucking industry rate of women truckers is 5%. That is over double what it was in 1991. While that is a somewhat positive way to present that information, that is still low in absolute terms. Trucking isn’t the only male-dominated industry in Canada, but it sure has lagged behind some in terms of seeing increases in women’s participation (at least as truckers). This lagging is even more obvious when we look to broader labour trends in Canada, as more women now pursue post-secondary education than men and are (or soon will be) the majority in many occupations now that were once male dominated, including biologists, physicians, veterinarians, and lawyers.³

The driver shortage being felt by Canadian carriers is a common industry discussion topic. Canada’s trucking industry is also aware of the need to improve safety performance with a significant area of focus being on driver training and recruitment. It’s common knowledge that women are underrepresented as truckers in Canada, but what is less commonly known is that evidence suggests women are safer professional drivers than men, too, with women tending to be less impulsive and risky.^4,5,6

We have an industry that wants more truckers, wants more safety, can be relatively high-paying, and has very little participation by women as truckers. It sure seems like everything is in alignment for more women to enter the industry. So, why aren’t more women getting into trucking?

I have my suspicions, which are based on my academic work and my time in Canada’s trucking industry as a long-haul flatbed trucker, then safety manager, and now safety professional and researcher. I’m going to focus on two high-level issues: representation and working conditions.

Representation of women in trucking is low. It is relatively uncommon to see women truckers, and it’s also generally not something that is presented to Canadian women as a great career choice (although this is changing). Representation matters: If I don’t see myself in a particular role and, in addition, see few or no people I consider similar to me in said role, then I’m not likely to pursue the role unless someone or something intervenes in my life to bring aspects of the role to my attention in a positive way. Numerous organizations throughout Canada have been working to address this issue of representation by highlighting women truckers and conducting targeted marketing and educational campaigns to showcase trucking to women.

I’m supportive of such work but only if it is well-intentioned, honest, and accurately informative. The industry wanting more drivers to address labour shortages isn’t, by itself, a good reason for more women to become truckers. Of course, any industry with a labour shortage wants to fill the shortage! Pointing out the shortage and its negative impacts on the industry and economy doesn’t address the reasons why the shortage exists in the first place, though.

From my perspective, the underlying reasons why women are underrepresented as truckers are related to issues with working conditions as a trucker. This has been studied well enough in Canada and the US to give us clear ideas as to what problems exist in trucking that are particularly discouraging to women, including:^7,8,9,10

• Childcare challenges (it might be 2025, but women still do the majority of childcare-related activities)
• Direct and indirect discrimination
• Sexual harassment
• Poor rest and personal hygiene facilities
• Personal safety concerns

To me, this is why we (i.e., Canada’s trucking industry) need to be cautious and factual when conducting representation and educational campaigns intended to promote truck driving as a career for women and/or any other underrepresented group. The above partial list of working condition challenges in trucking are things that I have observed (but, as a man, have not experienced firsthand) and continue to see perpetuated in the industry.⁹ Minimizing them and otherwise misrepresenting what it’s like to be a trucker in Canada is both misguided and unethical: at best, people enter the industry and eventually leave once they figure out they’ve been lied to and, at worst, the representation campaign could contribute to someone getting hurt who never would have entered the industry had they known more about it.

So, what to do about working conditions? There are many strategies and approaches, especially since “working conditions” speaks broadly to a lot of issues. However, I tend to see efforts fall into one of two categories: industry-centric and individual-centric. Individual-centric efforts to address trucking working conditions are those that focus on preparing the individual person for a career in trucking whereas industry-centric efforts are those that focus on changing the working conditions themselves.

Individual-centric efforts are easy, from the industry’s perspective. They do not require carriers to modify their operations. They do not require governments to improve infrastructure. They do not require other drivers to change. They simply require the prospective entrant – new women truckers, in this case – to change their own behaviours and levels of resiliency to be able to withstand the culture of the industry.

Industry-centric efforts, from the industry’s point of view, are much more challenging. They require change at the levels of individual drivers and other industry personnel, carriers, governments, and service providers. Collaboration between companies, individuals, governments, and other organizations is a necessity. Despite being challenging, though, it’s also the approach that’s likely to bring about the needed changes and desired results.

Trucking cannot control the expectations, attitudes, behaviours, and beliefs of the general public. It may be able to improve its image to outsiders, but any issues regarding working conditions will be obvious to outsiders as they become insiders. Asking people to consider trucking and to work on their resiliency to be able to tough it out is an initially easy thing for the industry to do, but it has not been particularly successful at increasing women’s participation as truckers in Canada.

I believe that Canada’s trucking industry is in a great position in terms of evidence and paths forward to increase women’s participation as truckers in a way that genuinely addresses the reasons why they are underrepresented today. We have the knowledge of why women don’t tend to want to become truckers as the issues with the industry’s image and working conditions are, at this point in time, well-enough documented for tangible action to be the next step. I mean, as a researcher, I’ll always appreciate more evidence and more research to confirm and/or refute prior understandings, but we know enough here to act with evidence-backed intentionality. Even if other issues arise, we have plenty to work on in the meantime.^{4,5,6,7,8,9,10}

I want to see more women working as truckers in Canada. However, this isn’t because of any driver shortages. Instead, I want to see Canada’s trucking industry address occupational health, safety, and wellness hazards currently giving women pause, and I want to see it continue to make truck driving a job more women genuinely want to do, whether for the short- or long-term long-haul. (Phew, just about missed a trucking pun opportunity there.)

References:

1. Menzies, J. (2018). Change of face. Truck News. https://www.trucknews.com/transportation/change-of-face/1003087787/
2. Government of Canada. (n.d.). Explore an occupation – Job Bank. Retrieved September 13, 2025, from http://www.jobbank.gc.ca/occupationsearch.xhtml
3. Norris, D. (2013). A Half Century Of Change In Canada’s Labour Force. Environics Analytics. https://environicsanalytics.com/en-ca/resources/blogs/ea-blog/2013/06/26/a-half-century-of-change-in-canadas-labour-force#:~:text=The%20rising%20education%20levels%20of,as%20engineers%20(18%25%20vs.
4. Scott, A., Davis-Sramek, B., & Ketchen, D. J. (2024). Men at Work…Unsafely: Gender Differences in Compliance with Safety Regulations in the Trucking Industry. Production and Operations Management, 33(4), 995–1013. https://doi.org/10.1177/10591478241235145
5. Scott, A., & Davis-Sramek, B. (2023). Driving in a man’s world: examining gender disparity in the trucking industry. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 53(3), 330–353. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-03-2022-0073
6. American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). (2018). Predicting Truck Crash Involvement: 2018 Update. American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). https://truckingresearch.org/2018/07/predicting-truck-crash-involvement-2018-update/
7. American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). (2024). Identifying and Mitigating the Challenges Faced by Women Truck Drivers. American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). https://truckingresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ATRI-Identifying-and-Mitigating-Challenges-Faced-by-Women-TD-06-2024.pdf
8. Balay, A. (2018). Semi Queer: Inside the World of Gay, Trans, and Black Truck Drivers. University of North Carolina Press.
9. Elniski, D. (2023). Equity in Safety: How transportation safety professionals in Alberta’s trucking industry view their roles, their systems, and their industry [MA Thesis, University of Lethbridge]. https://opus.uleth.ca/items/a77db464-3185-4d29-99e6-dc523d734339
10. Women in Trucking. (2021). How Safe Do Female Drivers Feel On the Road? https://www.womenintrucking.org/blog/how-safe-do-female-drivers-feel-on-the-road