Women In Trucking measures gender diversity in leadership roles

New data from the 2023 WIT Index recently released by the Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has provided a new measurement of percentages of women in corporate leadership within the commercial freight transportation industry. The WIT Index is the industry barometer that benchmarks and measures each year the percentage of women who make up various critical roles in transportation.

Included are percentages of women who are in leadership roles, in the C-suite, and serving on boards of directors of companies within the transportation industry. The 2023 WIT Index found that an average of 36.9% of company leaders, defined as professionals with supervisory responsibilities, are women. The 2023 WIT Index also found that an average of 31.6% of C-suite executives are women. In addition, the 2023 WIT Index indicated that women comprise 28.4% of boards of directors of responding companies.

Initiated in 2016, the index is based upon reported statistics by companies in transportation, including for-hire trucking companies, private fleets, transportation intermediaries, railroads, ocean carriers, equipment manufacturers, and technology companies. Data involving the 2023 WIT Index was confidentially gathered from January through April of 2023 from 350 participating companies of various sizes operating in the trucking industry. Percentages are reported only as aggregate totals of respondents rather than by individual company.

“The presence of female leaders in transportation is critical because they bring a broader range of diverse thought, skill sets, and experiences to the workplace,” said Jennifer Hedrick, president and CEO of WIT. “Companies that boast a higher representation on their boards notably outperform organizations that do not,” she continues. “Research has shown that companies with greater gender diversity, not just within their workforce but directly among senior leadership, are significantly more profitable than those without.”