Wyoming girls can truck!

DOUGLAS, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) – The trucking industry is big in Wyoming and growing across the country. Yet, only a small number of the people in that field are women. Now, things are starting to change.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, women only make up 8% of the trucking industry. While that’s still a low percentage, the number of women in trucking has nearly doubled since 2004.

As technology has evolved, the trucking industry has changed alongside it. The need for more women is critical in order to further advance the industry.

Tami Jenkins is a member of Women in Trucking. She explains that the trucking industry is complex and expands from coast to coast.

“I don’t think people realize that we are at every end of the country. Everything you do, everything you touch, has been brought in by a truck at some point. Women in this industry are amazing and so important,” she says.

Jenkins started her journey in the trucking industry as a secretary. Through the years, she climbed the ranks working various positions, ranging from a dispatcher to an operations manager. She eventually landed her current position as a safety director.

There is much more to the trucking industry than jobs behind the wheel. Women in this field can be anything from drivers to administrative staff to executives and CEOs. Trucks Are For Girls encourages girls to see themselves fulfilling various roles within the industry.

Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming partnered with Eastern Wyoming College to provide girls a hands-on experience of what possibilities in trucking could look like. Girls had the chance to get up close and personal with the trucks and buses at the event.

Samantha Austin is a third-generation trucker based in Wyoming. She says, “When I started a long time ago, women weren’t out there. When you walked from the truck to the truck stop by yourself, it was kind of scary to do it all by yourself out there. Nowadays it’s not as much because there’s more women out there than there used to be.”

The number of women in the industry is continuing to grow, and there’s no signs of it slowing down. Technology is rapidly changing the way goods travel around the country. In a hyper connected world, the demand for transportation of goods is higher than ever. As the industry expands, more women are taking on these roles.

The women in this industry say the possibilities are endless.

Austin’s daughter, Robin Buchholz, is following her mother’s footsteps and also works as a commercial truck driver. She credits working in the industry for setting her and her family up for success.

She says, “It put me through college and I learned invaluable skills that I’ve been able to pass on to my daughters. That probably would never have happened if not for a truck.”

Buchholz says that teaching girls about the industry now shows girls that they can do anything.

“I just want them to know that they don’t have to be stereotypically a girl. I mean, you can still have nails and still wear makeup and still drive a truck,” she says.

More information on Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming is available on their website. For more information on the Women In Trucking national Girl Scout Patch Program, click here.

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