Project: Women in Transport
The project has discussed the industry from the female perspective with 200 women and 570 employers. The key aspects of the information uncovered are that;
- the information is the most current available
- it was not designed to meet predetermined criteria
- this was a complete absence of collusion
The responses show that there are many preconceptions prevailing that prevent female participation in the industry. However, we urge caution in interpreting stated intentions as actions. The principle outcomes were:
FROM FEMALE PARTICIPANTS FROM EMPLOYERS
- employers don’t want women - women never apply
- it’s a tough physical job - we can accommodate women
- the hours are “rotten” - we can offer part-time work
- no training opportunities for women
Our interviews indicate these are perceptual rather than actual;
Employers indicate a general willingness to employ women and offer them flexible conditions of employment, but fail to get many applicants. They could not, however, give examples of how they set out to make the position attractive to female applicants.
Potential female applicants felt that the industry was unattractive because of its hard physical labour and need to do overnight stops and that (male) employers did not want women as drivers.
Physical labour is no longer a pre-requisite as tyre changes and loading are not carried out by drivers but by specialist technicians. Modern vehicles do not require strength to drive due to modern steering and transmission mechanisms.
Transport Training Trust will monitor future employment results to find out if the new awareness makes a difference to the recruitment of women into the industry.
The days of the long-distance driver have changed due to the Working Time Directives which has opened up the opportunity for shorter, more local routes and part time working.
Contributors were universally surprised when told that their main responses were largely out of date.
The key message to come out of the project is,
COME ON LADIES, APPLY FOR THE JOBS THE INDUSTRY WILL WELCOME YOU.
