Companies in commercial freight transportation are increasingly formalizing diversity and inclusion (D&I) policies, according to the 2023 WIT Index. Developed by the Women In Trucking Association (WIT), the WIT Index is an industry barometer to benchmark and measure each year the percentage of women who make up critical roles in transportation.
For the second year in a row, WIT has included in its 2023 WIT Index if participating companies have a formal D&I policy. About 56.4% of companies confirmed their organization has a formal policy, showing a significant increase from 2022, while 19.3% say their company currently does not have a formal policy in place. Some 19.3% confirmed that their company is currently in the process of developing a formal D&I policy.
A statem ent from WIT said workplace cultures that are strong in diversity and inclusion have been linked to increased productivity.
In addition, the percentage of female leaders in transportation companies continues to increase, according to the 2023 WIT Index. The index shows that 31.6% of C-suite executives in transportation companies are women, 36.9% of company leaders are female, and 28.4% of boards of directors are women.
“In recent years, many companies in transportation have made their D&I policies publicly available not only to provide transparency to potential job seekers on the importance of gender diversity to their corporate culture but also for customers and business partners,” said Jennifer Hedrick, president and CEO of WIT. “As a result, diverse and inclusive workplaces earn deeper trust and more commitment from their employees and key stakeholders.”
Initiated in 2016, the WIT 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.
