Workplace cultures that are strong in diversity, inclusion, and belonging have been linked to increased productivity, according to the 2022 WIT Index. For the first time in its history, the 2022 WIT Index asked participants if their company has a formal Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) policy. Approximately 45.5 percent of companies confirmed that their organization has a formal policy, while 31 percent say their company currently does not have a formal policy in place. Approximately 18 percent confirmed that their company is currently in the process of developing a formal D&I policy.
The percentage of leaders in corporations in the commercial freight transportation industry continues to increase, according to new data highlighted in the WIT Index, which was just released by the Women In Trucking Association (WIT). The WIT Index is the official industry barometer to benchmark and measures each year the percentage of women who make up critical roles in transportation.
The 2022 WIT Index shows that 33.8 percent of C-suite executives in transportation companies are women, an increase of 1.5 percent since 2019 when the last WIT Index was measured. In addition, the 2022 WIT Index shows that 39.6 percent of company leaders are female. “Company leaders” are defined as someone with supervisory responsibilities and include executives within the C-suite.
“It wasn’t that long ago that carriers didn’t even know what percentage of their drivers were female, but now we’re moving beyond that to attract and retain an even more diverse workforce to include age, ethnicity, and other categories in addition to gender,” said Ellen Voie, WIT president and CEO. “The fact that so many companies in transportation have formal D&I policies in place speaks volumes to the importance organizations in this market vertical are placing on gender diversity and inclusion.”
Initiated in 2016, the WIT Index is comprised of average percentages of females in various roles that are reported by companies in transportation, including predominantly for-hire trucking companies, private fleets, transportation intermediaries, railroads, ocean carriers, equipment manufacturers, and technology companies. This data was confidentially gathered from January through April of 2022 from 180 participating companies and percentages are reported only as aggregate totals of respondents.
