The road to gender equality in global transport is long, but as industry experts say, women are finally taking the wheel of an industry historically dominated by men.
At an event organised by the International Road Transport Organisation (IRU) , a number of women leaders shared their experiences and visions on how women are integrating into and transforming the transport sector despite the cultural, regulatory and structural challenges they face.
As Iro Doumani, chair of the IRU Freight Transport Council, noted, “The transport industry is willing to embrace the women it needs, because they are integral and necessary.”
For her part, Alejandra Cruz Ross, a transport specialist at the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva, commented that women in high-income countries represent 20% of the industry .
“But when it comes to truck drivers, they represent 0.2% in those low-income countries,” he explained.
For the specialist, this figure reflects a significant disparity and highlights the structural and cultural barriers that women must overcome to enter this field.
Cruz Ross commented that policies and regulatory barriers that limit women’s participation in the sector become a challenge.
“There are licenses that are prohibited for women, and in medical examinations or tests women could be biased,” Cruz Ross said.
She also noted that institutional discrimination , which manifests itself in a series of restrictions, is a persistent obstacle for women seeking to access jobs in road transport.
Despite these challenges, the panelists also highlighted the positive impact that women can have in the workforce .
In her speech, Elena Robles, legal director of Estafeta Mexicana , said that “today we have the first female president in Mexico and in different chambers and associations it is almost unthinkable to see panels where a woman does not participate.”
Robles highlighted the cultural change taking place worldwide, but acknowledged that there is still a long way to go.
“Today, when you get to the boards of the chambers, you see more women, and that is a sign that things are changing,” said Robles.
For her part, Cari Baylor, president of Baylor Trucking , shared her personal experience, recalling how, at the beginning of her career, “I was the only woman among 700 or 1,000 people in a transportation company . ”
However, he mentioned that, despite the obstacles, he has always focused on demonstrating his skills and abilities.
“My role models were always men, but that was because there were no women I could aspire to be like,” Baylor explained.
Although women are playing an increasingly important role in the global transport industry, they still face significant barriers that must be overcome, both at a cultural and institutional level.
(Main photo source: IRU)
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