Every day more women can be seen working in areas that could previously be considered only suitable “for men.” One of them is the transport industry, where women are increasingly involved and which also makes it clear that transport can be efficiently led by both men and women.
For many years, sectors such as construction or transportation had “limited” in some way the participation of women due to prejudices and sociocultural stereotypes. In the transport sector, for example, there have been many excuses for hiring a man instead of a woman: the typical stigmatizing phrase “is that women drive worse” or “is that they take a long time to load and unload”, mere reasons pronounced by inertia and manners that lack real and truthful meaning.
Some excuses usually cover up a defense of the family burden for the woman. For example, “going off the road” comes to mean something like carelessness of the family due to the lack of established schedules and prejudices derived from these due to the fact of carrying out a night job and alone.
These social prejudices based mainly on the “lack of physical strength” are not marked by sex but by the capacity of the individual. Technologies such as the Guardian ELOG implemented in this transport industry that are designed for their equal management of gender (by men and by women) demonstrate that more than physical strength, what is required is skill and dexterity, so it is only a problem cultural.
However, as we have commented before, the balance is positive, every day there are more women who break these nonsensical stereotypes and seek their place in transport.
In the new generations, there is a positive trend regarding the insertion of women in the freight transport sector, both nationally and internationally. Although the transport union is still dominated by men and only 6% of the industry is represented by women.
In relation to the characteristics that they attribute to women, the businessmen of this industry highlight virtues neatness and delicacy, discipline, tolerance for routine work, efficiency, concentration and responsibility, adaptability and ability to establish human relationships, honesty, commitment, and loyalty.
Finally, we want to highlight the role played by women not only in the transport of goods but in other industries related to it.
As we all know, March 8 is International Women’s Day, and at Diesel Tech Industries we join in the recognition for all women in general and in particular all those who are part of and contribute to the improvement of the transportation industry.
