by Ellen Voie, on Jun 4, 2021 9:46:15 AM
Women In Trucking joins broad coalition calling for passage of legislation to promote service in transportation.
As the need for professional drivers continues, the Women In Trucking Association (WIT) is joining with more than thirty groups to support federal funding to highlight careers in all areas of transportation.
The Promoting Service in Transportation Act (H.R. 3310 and S. 1681) asks legislators to authorize funding for the United States Department of Transportation (US DOT) to garner exposure for jobs in trucking, aviation, rail and maritime. They would create a series of public service announcements for print, broadcast and digital media to encourage these careers.
The bill highlights the importance of the trucking industry, “Trucks move more than 71% of the nation’s freight by weight and continue to play a critical role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, most recently through the delivery of vaccines to communities throughout this country.”
Gender diversity is also mentioned in the bill as women are underrepresented in trucking as well as aviation, maritime and rail. This goal supports the mission of Women In Trucking Association to encourage the employment of women in transportation careers.
The urgency of the bill references the COVID 19 pandemic and its effect on the supply chain while citing the increasing need for drivers, pilots, and engineers as the economy begins to move ahead.
In the American Transportation Research Institute’s annual survey of top industry concerns, the driver shortage has topped the list of carrier worries for the past four years and has been in the top ten for many more years.
At Women In Trucking, we are thrilled that the focus on careers in trucking as well as other transportation roles is becoming a priority at the legislative level. We have worked hard to encourage more women to consider careers as drivers, technicians, safety directors, managers and more for over fourteen years, so this support is timely and welcome.
We will work with the coalition to ensure the messaging is gender inclusive and will appeal to those outside of the transportation industry to further the bill’s effectiveness.
The bill was re-introduced by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Aviation Subcommittee Chairman, Rick Larson (D-2-WA), Rep. Don young (R-AK) and Rep. Angie Craig (D-2-MN) from the previous Congress, with Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) sponsoring the Senate version.
