Caution Men Working

Copyright Sandy Long

The trucking industry ought to be littered with signs saying ‘caution men working’. At approximately 7% of the drivers on the road, we women in the trucking industry are sure to have to work and interact with males both drivers and non drivers every day. Some women work in shops and have to supervise male mechanics, there are the hundreds of women brokers and dispatchers that have to dispatch more males than females and some women own their own small fleets and have to hire male drivers.

How often a day are you as a lady driver patronized, insulted or ignored by the males you come in contact with? More often than some would think. A few weeks ago, I was speaking to a rookie male driver as I was fueling, washing my windshields and checking my oil. After telling me proudly that he had been driving for a ‘whole 6 months’ he proceeded to tell me how to ‘properly’ wash all of my windows, check my oil, how a tire should sound when thumped, and how I did not have the nozzle in the tank at the proper angle. With his chest puffed out, he asked the question ‘how long have you been out of school’? The look on his face was priceless when I told him how long I have been driving.

Back when I worked in the office for a 500+ truck company, one of the many hats I wore was overseeing the shop. Guys would try to bluff me over everything from how a bumper got bent to why the fuel pump had been turned up. They just could not accept that a female would know anything different. It took me a very short time to change their opinion.

To deal with men, women should remember that both genders are equal…no, I do not mean feminist equal, but equal as drivers and/or members of the trucking community. Women need to stand their ground firmly, not use feminine wiles to get their way, but to state their position straight forwardly and not ‘waffle’ back and forth. Do not use some little girl voice or cast your eyes down or men, who naturally are more aggressive, will walk right over you. I do not propose that you stand and argue with some guy over anything beyond reason, but if someone is trying to put you in a weakened position, take charge of the situation.

If you are in a supervisory capacity (and this could be as a driver supervising the loading or repair of your equipment), then give direction firmly and concisely; be pleasant, but not over friendly; listen to advice, but make your own decisions and then stand by them; dress appropriately for the job, not in clothes you would go out in; do not accept excuses for bad behavior or performance, you will not be respected for it; do not complain about one employee to another, you will be thought of as a gossip and a back stabber; and finally, make sure you are right before making your stand.

The purpose of this article is not to bash men, I love and respect men, but they have been taught for generations that women are softer, weaker and less able to take care of themselves than men are, so tend to take advantage if they can. By this I mean that little boys are taught that it isn’t nice to be mean to a girl, hit her, kick her, take her toys or yell at her. Boys are taught that girls should be treated like little ladies in everything. This is really shown in the old sayings that little girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice while little boys are made of snails and frogs and puppy dog tails. To change that ingrained trait, it is up to us to conduct ourselves as their equal and meet them on a level playing field of our devising instead of showing actions that perpetuate the myth that women cannot do anything they set their minds to do.

With a little due diligence on our part, at least in the trucking industry, someday the signs will read ‘caution people working’.

Ya’ll be safe out there!

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