To Reverse Driver Shortage, Trucking Industry Steers Women To Jobs

When someone says "trucker," many stereotypes often come to mind. A bearded Kris Kristofferson in the 1978 film Convoy or a hollerin' Jerry Reed from Smokey and the Bandit are just some of the mental images associated with the word.  Traditionally, trucking has been an industry dominated by men. But increasingly, that's changing.

The American Trucking Associations says the industry is short about 30,000 truckers nationwide. It expects that shortage to surge more than 200,000 truckers in the next decade.  The industry is increasingly looking at other demographics — particularly women — to close that gap.

Judy Sanchez is one of those women. She's training to become a truck driver at the Dootson School of Trucking in Arcadia, Calif.  Beginners start with a bus and move on to a truck. And Sanchez is as green as it gets. This is only the third time she's driven a stick shift.  Still, she's not lacking for confidence when it comes to parallel parking between a set of orange cones.  "Oh yeah, and I see a lot of women having a hard time and I'm like, really? Let me help you out," Sanchez says.  "Oh, we have a cocky one on us here today," her instructor jokes.  Continue reading..


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