Many companies in the road transport industry are working hard to create more career opportunities for women, support their professional development and tap into the huge pool of underused talent available.
This means not only hiring more women, but also creating a more inclusive working environment and offering employee benefits that can help women succeed.
Women currently make up just 15% of the logistics workforce, 20% of transport sector staff and only 3% of HGV drivers, highlighting the need for greater diversity across the industry.
For example, parcel delivery company Evri has worked to increase in its female HGV driver population over the last year to about 4%, but accepts more needs to be done.
This year, the company has launched several initiatives to attract and retain female drivers, including:
- A new recruitment and communications campaign to raise awareness and champion female drivers as well as providing more information on becoming a trainee driver, which includes experienced female drivers telling their stories.
- Listening groups with existing female drivers to understand how Evri can make its workplace a more inclusive environment.
- A mentoring programme with existing experienced female drivers to support new ones.
Also, with females making up 30% of its courier workforce, Evri’s newly launched Van Driver HGV Training Programme aims to encourage even more women to take on this role within the company.
Evri prides itself in making working patterns more accommodating for women – particularly for those with family commitments – with many driver roles predominantly day shifts and covering circular routes, meaning staff need not sleep in cabs.
Lyn Warren, Chief Human Resources Officer at Evri, who is herself currently undertaking her HGV CPC training, said: “Across the industry, we know that women are hugely underrepresented in these roles particularly, which is why it’s so important that businesses continue to address this imbalance and champion new ways of breaking down barriers.
“I’m passionate about creating a workplace where everyone, regardless of background or gender, can thrive, the logistics industry has traditionally been male dominated, but I believe women have the talent and skillset to excel in this field.
“We’re removing barriers and creating opportunities for women to join our team, and I’m confident that we can make Evri a place where they can reach their full potential.”
Earlier this year XPO created a new Female Driver Academy to help attract more women into the industry.
The female drivers who join the Academy undertake a 12 to 16-week programme using the XPO Logistics internal driver training team to develop and sharpen their skills.
The goal is to create a corps of highly skilled and professional female drivers who are intimately familiar with the company’s customers and products.
The XPO Female Driver Academy is part of the company’s Driver Excellence Academy, which was established to help people from all backgrounds who wish to train as an HGV driver.
The only requirement is that participants must be aged 18 to drive an HGV, and each trainee works towards receiving the relevant qualification for the type of vehicle they want to drive.
For example, a Cat B car licence can be upskilled to a Cat Class C (Rigid) or Cat CE (Artic). It is also possible to go straight from a Cat B to a Cat CE licence.
Lynn Brown, vice president, human resources – UK and Ireland, XPO Logistics, said: “We will be employing the candidates from day one so they can earn a living while training to become a vital part of our team.
“Our customer, Saint-Gobain UK and Ireland, has backed the initiative by offering roles in their British Gypsum and PAM operations.
“Our trainer will buddy our candidates, ensuring they can learn from someone who has first-hand experience of what they are going through and can provide the best possible support.”
Meanwhile, with a workforce of 16% women, pallet network specialist Pall-Ex Group employs women in operational and driving roles, led by a board which is 33% female.
In order to attract more women employees, the company launched its LEAP Future development programme earlier this year.
The aim is to enable Pall-Ex to grow its own talent in LGV, forklift truck operator, transport office, sales and leadership roles, providing job opportunities to local people, including those from typically under-represented groups.
Kevin Buchanan, Pall-Ex Group CEO said: “At Pall-Ex Group, we recognise that having a diverse workforce is at the heart of our success.
“Our employees benefit from flexible working hours, with 10% of our female staff working part-time hours, allowing them to balance a career with family responsibilities.
“We also have a thorough induction programme to support employees returning from parental leave, as well as a fair and inclusive pay scheme.
“We want our workforce to be even more diverse and inclusive.”
Since 2022, MAN Truck & Bus has been running a “WoMAN” workshop in truck product development, which endeavours to get to know the working lives of female drivers better and make the vehicle and the profession more attractive to women.
Female drivers are on average younger, shorter and lighter than their male colleagues so the preferred width of beds in the cab has been a topic of discussion in the sessions.
Other issues raised have been whether there should be female-friendly improvements made to cabs relating to washbasins, toilets and electric sockets.
MAN has also put together detailed questionnaires to find out more about the everyday working life of female truck drivers.
Dr Frederik Zohm, Chief Development Officer at MAN Truck & Bus said: “Female drivers contribute another important perspective to our product development.
“We want to use these valuable insights to make our products even better, more comfortable and more user-friendly for our customers in the future.”
Developing training programmes and policies that benefit women, creating more opportunities, and promoting a welcoming work culture should encourage more women to apply for roles in logistics, which will only benefit the industry as it looks to build a successful future.
