www.dcvelocity.com OCTOBER 2016 DC VELOCITY 29
and recruiting programs at Schneider Inc.
In addition to heading up the nonprofit, Voie is a
frequent speaker at industry events and has published
numerous articles and two books. Her blog appears
on the White House website ( www.whitehouse.gov/
blog/2012/07/30/advocating-women-moving-america).
Voie spoke recently with DC VELOCITY Group Editorial
Director Mitch Mac Donald about her career, the genesis
and goals of WIT, and how things must change to attract
more women into the motor freight work force.
QHow did you end up in this profession?
AIn high school, I had this passion for things like ngines, woodworking, and drafting. Essentially, I
was most engaged in careers that boys usually pick. I just
thought things like that were so cool. So I took shop class
in high school, which wasn’t common back in the 1970s.
My first job was drafting at a steel fabrication plant,
where I was designing material handling equipment, like
pallets and racks. My manager approached me one day
and said, “We’re opening up a shipping department.
Would you like to move over to the traffic side?” I had
no clue what that meant, but I said sure. They sent me to
school for traffic and transportation management, and I
became the company’s traffic manager.
This was at just about the time deregulation took place,
so I learned how to read tariffs, how to audit freight bills,
and things like that. That led to an opportunity once I
got married and started my family to do consulting for
trucking companies. I did that for 18 years while I raised
my family.
QIt’s still largely a man’s world out there in trucking, and women sadly are often subjected to some not-
so-nice things: cat calling, harassment, and even assaults.
Did that have anything to do with your decision to form
this group?
AWhat you describe is one of the things we’re trying to change at Women In Trucking. We need to make
women feel safe, which is not always the case today. For
example, I recently found out that some schools house
women in their driver training program in a bunkhouse
environment—a co-ed bunkhouse! A female student
contacted us to tell us that she had been accepted into
a training program and was told they would provide
lodging. When she got there, she learned she’d be sharing
sleeping quarters with men.
We all want to make this industry a better place for
women, yet we still see some outdated practices that
need to change. That’s why a big part of what we do is
call attention to issues like co-ed bunkhouses and look
to solve those problems. We developed an anti-harassment employment guide for our carrier members. It talks
about a lot of these types of issues.
As another example, it used to be that we would match
drivers up for training or team purposes by asking whether they smoked or not. That was the only question asked.
Our anti-harassment employment guide expands on that
greatly. Carriers are urged to ask questions that go deeper
into matters that influence compatibility. We urge them
to include questions like: “Can you discuss politics? Can
you discuss religion? Do you have any food allergies?” It’s
more in-depth and helps ensure that drivers are comfortable with each other from the outset.
QAre carriers doing enough to dismantle the barriers that discourage women from getting behind the
wheel?
ASome carriers that are starting to pay attention are really finding success in their efforts. The for-
ward-thinking firms will come to us and ask about best
practices and things they should improve.
QHow about the challenges that are beyond a compa- ny’s control—such as facilities and accommodations
for drivers when they’re on the road?
AWe do work with the truck stops. Many have done things like putting hair-dryers in their restrooms and
enclosing showers to provide privacy. We can’t have a
locker-room environment the way we did in the past.
There is also the security issue. Even though many are
really trying hard to put more lighting in to make their
premises safer, some truck stops just aren’t a safe environment. For that reason, part of what we do is teach
women to be “situationally aware”: Don’t walk between
trailers. Don’t park in the back. Always have your keys
and your cellphone with you. Walk with a purpose.
QAs you think about your experiences both in the motor freight industry and with Women In Trucking,
are you glad about your career choice?
AOh, yes. In fact, I love what I do. I love the fact that Women In Trucking is making a difference. I love
