How a doll named Clare is trying to help solve trucking’s labor shortage—by attracting women and girls to the field

April 10, 2022

The industry needs 1.1 million drivers over the next 10 years to replace the 1,200 retiring every week in America; and less than 8% of all drivers right now are women.

The gist:

Trucking companies and educators, are looking for new ways to get women into the business.

Hence…meet Clare, “the brainchild of Women in Trucking, an organization founded by industry vet Ellen Voie” to “further the role of women in the trucking industry.”

“We have to tell women that they can do this and they are wanted.”

Echoing that sentiment is Tra Williams, “who owns FleetForce Truck Driving School in Winterhaven, Florida,” and “has made recruiting women a big part of his agenda.”

“Historically the industry has done a very poor job of controlling the narrative on what it means to be a professional driver…Ninety percent of trucking companies in America have fewer than 20 trucks. Most of those are owned by a driver. There’s an element of entrepreneurship here that most of America doesn’t realize. It’s an empowering profession that gives you the tools to be your own boss. And if you’re not interested in that, you have the tools for incredible job stability.”

He also adds that, “Carriers like having female truckers,…they cause fewer accidents, and they’re less likely to go into road rage.”

Alix Miller is the femae president and CEO of the Florida Trucking Association, who says, “a big part of the effort, is helping smaller, family-owned carriers change their policies and ways of doing business, from technology to hiring.” Her company acts as ‘road ambassadors,’ “speaking to students about the career path, sharing safety protocols, technological advances, and stories of what driving is really like. Advances like one-pedal operation, she says, mean stature, physical strength, and size don’t play the role in driving they did when all trucks had manual transmission. In addition, carriers that have options for regional driving (allowing for more nights spent at home) or have upped the ante on truck maintenance to prevent unexpected breakdowns (which might make women more nervous in terms of personal safety on the road) can all play into attracting female drivers.”

The article concludes relating the experience of one new female owner and driver, Vanita Johnson, for whom “truck driving has proven an incredible second life.”  At age 50, “she enrolled in trucking school.” With two options, take one of the “job offers were plentiful at graduation,” she personally “set her sights on being an owner-operator.”

Now, “a year into the industry, the Atlanta-based Johnson owns her own truck” and “estimates that she pulls in close to $120,000, but since she owns her truck, her overhead is relatively high (fuel, mechanical costs, repairs, et cetera), making her take-home pay between $60,000 and $80,000.”

I’m able to book my own loads and go the directions I want to go. I’m in control of my destiny.”

By the way, we have to let you know that Women in Trucking “has also partnered with the Girl Scouts to make a transportation patch,” where “Girls earn the patch by learning about the supply chain (grain planted on the farm, harvested grain to the bakery, bakery to packaging, packaging to warehouse, warehouse to a Girl Scout like you), and the trucking industry’s important role in that process, through the Girl Scouts’ cookie program.”

“So far 1,000 girls have earned that patch all over the country,” says Voie. “We are getting into their heads at an early age that they can do this.”

And on top of that: “Girls can buy their own Clare doll on the Women in Trucking site and follow along with Clare’s adventures via #wheresclare on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.”

Photo: Clare doll checking the tire pressure of a truck. Courtesy of Women in Trucking

Connect with the Fortune post here.