It’s no secret, trucking is a male-dominated profession. While many women work as dispatchers and at fleet headquarters, they often don’t sit behind the wheel.

It’s estimated that female drivers account only for less than 10% of the trucking workforce. However, that’s not because women don’t want to drive—in fact, women are ready and willing to get into trucking.

The problem is, the trucking industry and culture just isn’t that welcoming for female truckers. That all needs to change—quick—because the driver shortage is only getting worse.

If you want to know how to get more female truck drivers in your fleet, then continue reading below.

Improve Safety for Women Truck Drivers

One of the main reasons there aren’t many women truck drivers is due to safety. It’s estimated that 60% of women truck drivers have felt unsafe at least once during a year of working.

Many of these unsafe experiences are when out on the road. More so than male truckers, female drivers need to be extra cautious.

Female truck drivers need to carry pepper spray, park under a light and plan their stops. There needs to be a solid support system in place to help women feel safer.

However, safety is also an issue within the industry itself. Harassment is a big issue in the industry, and 46% of female truckers have experienced unwanted physical advances.

If you want to recruit more female truckers, then you’ll need to get serious about safety and harassment. A company will need to adopt a policy that cares about harassment and can support a female trucker while out on the road.

Have Up to Date Technology and Equipment

It’s easy to see that trucks are made without regard for women. All you need to do is think about the ergonomics of a cab.

It can be a pain for a woman to adjust the seat or reach all the controls. Not only that, but the physical aspects of the job can be a bar for women.

So, if you want to hire more women, you’ll want to get all the bells and whistles. The less cranking and fighting with equipment and controls, the more women will want to join the profession.

Women Specific Benefits

To attract more female truckers to your fleet, you’ll need to offer great benefits. Make sure that your female drivers are getting equal pay to male drivers.

Often, women with children won’t be able to or won’t want to take a job and pay for child-care services. You can recruit more female truckers by offering child care benefits and flexible work schedules.

Let Women Drivers Know You Want to Hire Them

Take a look at your recruiting material—do any of them reach out to female truckers? Do any of your advertisements appeal to women or show female truckers or other female staff?

If not, then you likely aren’t letting female truckers that you want to hire them. Make new advertisements that make it clear that you’re searching for female truckers.

However, you’ll also want to make sure that you’re serious about hiring them and aren’t doing it for diversity or to meet a quota. Women drivers want to be taken seriously—so be clear that you really want to invest in their career.