by Women In Trucking Staff, on Feb 1, 2024 9:00:00 AM
ARLINGTON, Va. – Feb. 1, 2024 – The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has announced Kimberly Diggs as its February 2024 Member of the Month. Diggs is the Senior Content Marketing Manager at Triumph.
Diggs had no idea when she was the arts and entertainment editor for 14 newspapers years ago that she would end up in marketing, let alone the trucking industry.
How did Diggs find herself working in the trucking industry? She recalls that, almost two years ago, a recruiter from Triumph reached out to her while she was handling marketing and PR for an alcohol brand. At the time she said, “I was working a dead-end job that I was very unhappy in and when the recruiter reached out to me, I took the plunge!”
She’s now the content marketer for Triumph. Part of her job is to get a deeper understanding of the life of a trucker in order to effectively speak to them. The more she has learned, the deeper her appreciation has grown for truckers and the individual sacrifices that are made to ensure our society does not collapse. She feels that truckers are truly unsung heroes.
Diggs has received fantastic opportunities to host a webinar about becoming a content creator as a driver and be a panelist in a discussion about the importance of centering the voice of drivers in company messaging. In both opportunities, she hoped to spark some thought around women and GNC folk seeing themselves as thought leaders.
She says that “In an industry that has been male dominated for a long time, these winds of change are important, and we should share any information we have to help the next person shine brighter while more companies are open to it.” She loves the fact that she has the opportunity to make an impact and how exciting it is to see it come to fruition.
Diggs is sure many of us have been given the short but classic speech that we have to be twice as good to receive half of what our counterparts do. “Though I didn’t like why I was receiving this advice, I took it to heart and received the wake-up call of my career a few years before working at Triumph because that advice smacked me in the face one day.”
She presented her plan for content marketing and PR for the company she was working for at the time and was able to expertly answer every question asked of her by the members of the sales team they were presenting to. The next day, the VP went down the line, giving specific feedback about what the sales guys appreciated about her teammates’ presentations. When she (the VP) got to Diggs, her feedback was “they liked how professional you are.” This was not because she had a lackluster plan, and they were struggling to find a compliment. This was because, based on her race, gender, age, or some fun cocktail of these intersections, they expected her to be unprofessional.
“This is the unfortunate reality of being a member of a marginalized group. The key is to understand this reality; determine how much control you have in your career and future; and rise to great everyday with confidence and a coffee.”
She would like any women wanting to join the trucking industry to know that “you should always advocate for yourself. You are knowledgeable, you are capable, and the company you work for knows that you have something to offer because you are there.”
Though many women assume they won’t be able to enter trucking, especially as drivers or owner-operators, Diggs has seen a shift in attitude on social media, as part of her job is to keep up with trucking content all over the web. “I think lots of women assume they can’t work in trucking because they’re moms or they are juggling too many responsibilities, but you get on TikTok, and you see so many women doing it! They are moms, wives, mentors, bosses, truckers and more. It’s empowering to realize you can type in a topic on TikTok and there is a good chance a woman’s video may show up giving you valuable information about that topic. Things are changing for the better.”
Diggs is extremely optimistic about her bright future. She plans to stay in marketing and would like to progress to a senior role. Being able to mentor, provide guidance, and support is something that she is interested in doing in the future.
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About Women In Trucking Association, Inc.
Women In Trucking Association, Inc. is a nonprofit association established to encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry, promote their accomplishments and minimize obstacles faced by women working in the trucking industry. Membership is not limited to women, as 17 percent of its members are men who support the mission. Women In Trucking is supported by its members and the generosity of Gold Level Partners: Arrow Truck Sales, Bridgestone Americas, Daimler Truck North America, FedEx Freight, Great Dane, J.B. Hunt Transport, Michelin North America, Navistar International, Inc., PACCAR, Penske Transportation Solutions, Ryder System, Walmart, and WM. Follow WIT on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. For more information, visit www.womenintrucking.org or call 888-464-9482.
