It’s Women’s History Month, where we put the spotlight on brave, pioneering women in history who stood up for women’s rights and equality. In the trucking industry, women make up around 7% of the workforce, which we are happy to see is changing after the pandemic and in response to the trucker shortage.
However, women have been making strides in the trucking industry for decades. In this blog post, we share interesting background on these inspiring individuals and how they paved the way for women truckers in this day and age.
Young and unstoppable, 22-year-old Alice Huyler Ramsey proved that women can drive just as well as men. She took off on a cross-country road trip in 1909, becoming the first woman to drive from one coast to the other.
Ramsey is also known for founding the Women’s Motoring Club and in 2000, was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame for her achievements.
WWI and WWII were significant times for women, as many had to step up and take over men’s roles in the workplace, since the men were off fighting in Europe.
This also included the automotive industry, where women began to take the wheel and drive for many businesses.
During this period, a woman named Luella Bates was hired as a test driver for the Four Wheel Drive Auto Company. Her involvement lasted well after WWI ended, and she became the first woman to earn a driver’s license in 1920.
Bates drove a Model B truck as a demonstrator, and was supported by the Four Wheel Drive Auto Company on a road trip that took her around the US to show her skills as a woman truck driver.
The first woman truck driver in Texas was Lillie Elizabeth Drennan, who tackled sexism and discrimination when she pushed to receive her CDL license in 1929.
She did this with a hearing impairment nonetheless, but this didn’t stop her. She founded the Drennan Truck Line, her own logistics company.
A savvy businesswoman, Drennan saw the opportunities presented by an oil boom in Eastern Texas, and quickly sprang into action, providing trucking services for the oil companies. This included dangerous work, such as hauling TNT and dynamite.
True Carriers Group is a non-asset based group of carriers that has been helping drive America’s supply chain for over 40 years. We offer a full range of logistics services, including Intermodal, Reefer, Van, Flatbed, Brokerage, LTL and Heavy Haul.
