How can women engage men in improving gender diversity in the workplace? “Awareness building is an important first step in winning men’s support,” says Kelly Wolf Gonzalez, Director of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at KeepTruckin Inc., who addressed the topic in her presentation at the 2019 Accelerate! Conference & Expo. “Studies show that the higher men’s awareness of gender bias, the more likely they are to recognize the importance of achieving gender equality.” Gonzalez recommends that women seek out potential allies – men who understand their own advantages, recognize the need for greater diversity and want to share their support.

Valerie Alexander, CEO of Goalkeeper, author and keynote at Women In Trucking’s 2017 Accelerate! Conference, suggests that women adopt these three traits to help level the playing field:

Transportation is a family affair for Joyce Brenny, pictured here (right) with son-in-law Scott Simon, daughter Holly Simon, grandson Sutton and husband Todd.

The number of women-owned businesses is growing 2.5 times faster than the national average and has more than doubled in 20 years, according to American Express’ annual State of Women-Owned Businesses Report.  

Recently, J.B. Hunt’s GROW hosted the inaugural Trucks are for Girls event in Fayetteville, Ark. The event was powered by the Women In Trucking Association through their Girl Scout Transportation Patch program. Thirty Girl Scouts from the Northwest Arkansas area participated in the event which helped educate them on supply chain logistics.

Looking for a Good Truck Driving School?

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Things to look for when choosing a Truck Driving School:

By Fran Bernard, International Trucking School of Michigan

Different Types of Truck Driving Schools

Recently the Women In Trucking (WIT) Association President & CEO, Ellen Voie, was asked about WIT providing health insurance and employee benefits options for members. With insurance and benefits being such a big part of employee retention and attraction today, does it work for WIT Member Companies? To help explain this landscape, Ellen sat down with industry experts, Joe Simon of AON, and Cheryl Blake of OneDigital Health and Benefits to provide some thoughtful context. 

Joe Simon: “Employee benefits and the betterment of employees was not taken lightly by WIT, so we researched ways to assist member companies with affordable options provided by quality carriers. After about three years of studying the options presented here made sense.”

For 24 years, the Richard Crane Memorial Truck Show has been a highlight for the residents of St. Ignace, Michigan. This year’s event took place September 15. Hundreds of trucks crossed the Mackinac Bridge with their horns blaring and lights blazing as they made their way over the five-mile bridge. Fran (Crane) Bernard and her brother, Rick Crane, have been the driving force behind this annual event which honors their father, Richard Crane, a former driver, truck owner and founder of the American Truck Driving Schools. 

What makes a company desirable for women to work? Many say it comes from such reasons as a corporate culture that’s supportive of gender diversity, flexibility in hours and work requirements to accommodate family and life balance, competitive compensation and benefits, training and continued professional development, and career advancement opportunities.

If your organization is one that features these benefits (or more!), then it could be an ideal nominee for “Top Companies for Women to Work for in Transportation.” This is the second year this program will be featured in Redefining the Road, the official magazine of the Women In Trucking Association, with the goal to highlight companies in the industry that are friendly for women in BOTH driver and professional capacities.

What makes a company desirable for women to work? 
Many say it comes from such primary reasons as a corporate culture that’s supportive of gender diversity, flexibility in hours and work requirements to accommodate family and life balance, competitive compensation and benefits, training and continued professional development, and career advancement opportunities. 

If your organization is one that features these benefits (or more), then it could be an ideal nominee for “Top Companies for Women to Work for in Transportation.” This is the second year this program will be featured in Redefining the Road, the official magazine of the Women In Trucking Association, with the goal to highlight companies in the industry that are friendly for women in BOTH driver and professional capacities. 

Penske and Girl Scouts of Northern IN got together to learn about the transportation and logistics industry. The day’s activities included: rental/service shop tour, parts bingo, relay races, logistics farm to cookie selling group races, Touch-A-Truck (with LOTS of air horn honking), air filter monsters, pizza, and a patch presentation. The girls asked insightful questions about the transportation field and the role women play in it and had a great time learning from the Penske team!

This day would not have been possible without the support of the Elkhart Team, Midwest Area, Green Hills, and our Penske Logistics friends who came in from Michigan.

Engaged members are more likely to remain members, and we work hard to make sure our 4,000 plus members are happy and involved. However, we are often asked by members how they can become MORE proactive in supporting Women In Trucking (WIT) and our mission.

We love to hear this question, as every nonprofit depends on its volunteers to assist in promoting the organization.  From the board members to our Image Team, these are all people who give freely of their time and energy because they want to see us succeed.