GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC 26) — The American Trucking Associations claim the industry is short 80,000 truck drivers, contributing to delays across the United States.
That's why Schneider is aiming to recruit an underrepresented demographic in the trucking industry – women.
"To me, a woman in trucking for me means confidence, power, job security, adventure, and role model," said Kellylynn McLaughlin, a driver at Schneider and the first ever Driver Ambassador for Women in Trucking.
She joined the industry seven years ago after a man convinced her to join him for a ride-along. Today, she's looking to bring more women on the road with her, so Schneider outfitted her trailer with designs meant to empower – and recruit – women.
"There is a career opportunity here, and we make really safe drivers," McLaughlin said. "In general women are 20% less likely to be in a collision than our male professional driver counterparts. We take less risk. We're great at multitasking."
McLaughlin says her work as a Driver Ambassador is inspired by seeing the number of women triple during her time in the industry. The growth motivates her to share her story with others.
"When I first started seven years ago, about 3% of commercial drivers licenses were females. Now I see more and more women all the time," McLaughlin said. "All different ages which is great, and we're up to about 10%. I would really like to see it grow over the next few years so that maybe 25% or even 40% of us are females."
