Women in Trucking - A Woman's Perspective

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Truckers have been stereotyped for years. Big, dirty, drug takin', outlaw cowboy types are the way the men are perceived. Women drivers have been perceived as lesbians, tramps, desperate to find a husband, and weak since women started going solo. Stereotyping is there in every walk of life though. Computer techs and scientists are thought of as intellectual geeks, librarians as meek and mild, obese people as weak willed, disabled people as non-productive, and doctors as all knowing. It is human nature perhaps to lump all certain types of people into one category.

Overcoming this tendency to stereotype people and build misconceptions is hard to do at times. People tend to think what they are taught to think by their parents, and of course what parents think is always right, isn't it? Then again, some people reinforce their stereotypical traits just to mess with people and as a kind of statement: "I am who I am-like it or lump it!"

I run into misconceptions most at shippers and receivers, especially when I was a flat-bedder. They forever would tell me to go get my husband to supervise the loading or unloading. I love the look on their face when I tell them I am solo.

Probably the place that the most stereotyping goes on is the mechanic's shop. The mechanics think that we ladies don't know about anything mechanical. Though they may start out as slightly patronizing, they quickly change their tune when a lady driver tells them exactly what is wrong with her truck and how to fix it-especially when she is right!

Stereotyping is not the same as discrimination and cannot be dealt with the same way. Discrimination is nasty and is dealt with firmly. Stereotyping is just misconceptions on the part of the other person as to your orientation, abilities, and strength and so on. It is usually dealt with using a smile, a wink, or just ignoring it, but I must admit that stereotyping can be annoying. Any unwelcome reference to your orientation is out of line and borders on harassment and in essence, can reveal the first signs of real discrimination.

Misconceptions about yourself are actually the hardest to overcome. As life flows by, we may develop the idea that we are somehow flawed because of things said to us by family/friends/partners or perhaps one has been married more than once and now cannot find a partner. Women tend to take blame for things on themselves and so convince themselves that something is wrong with them. Yes, a woman might make some wrong choices in partners, but is that so uncommon? Does that make her abnormal? Of course not.

Misconceptions lead to doubt in one's self and can affect one's job performance, as well as the way they are perceived by others. For example, take a woman who constantly asks for help in doing tasks such as sliding her tandems in the yard. This is because when she was with a trainer, the trainer told her to pull the tandem pin and not yet knowing about leverage, she was unable to do the task. The trainer yelled at her repeatedly and told her she was a weakling. Her first load out solo, she had the same problem so developed the misconception that she was too weak to do the task. Therefore, she didn't have the confidence to keep trying until she figured it out, so would always ask for help.

The people that repeatedly saw that she always asked for help with her tandems, had the misconception that she was either weak or lazy. In reality, if one of them would have taken the time to talk to her a little and show her how leverage works, or one of the tips for pulling the pin that we all learn over time, then her misconception about herself and the misconception of onlookers would have gone away.

Probably the most obvious thing that contributes to people's misconception about us lady drivers is our dress/appearance. Many do not know that most women drivers keep their hair short for convenience. Many also do not wear make up because wearing it is time consuming and we have to be out in the heat. Many of us wear blue jeans,T-shirts, or work shirts because of the comfort and ease of cleaning. None of this has anything to do with one's choice of romantic partner. Besides, when did clothing reveal anything about sexual orientation? A lady driver friend of mine used to wear long skirts and dresses for the comfort factor. She was often asked what religious sect she belonged to.

The word misconception means fallacy or false thought. We all make misconceptions at times. It is easy to do. We all make assumptions based on what we see that is obvious and make judgments based on the misconceptions. Don't let the misconceptions of others rule your life or make you bypass opportunities or erode your career. A wise man once said: "to thine own self be true." You know who and what you are. Who cares how others perceive you, you are unique. You are a lady driver, and that is plenty.

Ya'll be safe out there!