A 25-year-old-mother-of-two has welcomed the action plan launched by the Road Transport Forum to attract more women into the sector.
Kylie Winiata told the Manawatu Standard that she welcomed the move by the RTF.
“There’s no point in letting the guys talk you out of it, women can do the job just as well, if not better and I tell my boys that,” she says.
“Sure, you get the old-schoolers who say it’s not a woman’s job, but they’re coming around to the idea that we can do it, because we can.”
Winiata is one of 760 women amongst 23,000 heavy truck drivers in New Zealand.
Her father Andrew Winiata owns A&P Trucking and has a fleet of three trucks manned by six drivers delivering dry goods around the lower North Island for the Foodstuffs Co-operative.
Winiata’s uncle, Nigel owns Winiata Distribution with four trucks.
Before she was allowed to sit her heavy truck licence in 2007, Winiata’s father had her sweeping decks and prepping loads for the family-run business.
Three generations of her family have driven big rigs.
“I’ve been brought up around trucks since day dot and I enjoy getting out and meeting people; every day is doing something different.”
The RTF action plan has been designed to tackle the problem of how to lift the profile of women in the industry, addressing stereotypes as mentioned above by Winiata, and providing better support and steps to retain women in the industry.
A ‘diversity handbook’ is part of the action plan and covers such topics such as flexible work-time guidelines, career pathways, shared facilities, and safety equipment.
Womens affairs minister Jo Goodhew says the action plan is working on strategies to recruit, retain and support more women into roles where they are currently under represented.
