Meal Times Can Be Tough For Women Truck Drivers
May 24, 2009
by Rhonda J.
|This story is an excerpt from a longer post at TruckingTruth.com. The opionions expressed herein are those of the author, not necessarily of The New Agenda.
Many women truck drivers and I have talked about the problems we face when trying to get served a meal at a truck stop… When I enter the For Professional Drivers Only section in my uniform no less, and take a table, a waitress almost always comes to me and asks me to leave because it is for Professional Drivers Only…
After this is done to you several times you pay attention and watch what happens to others as you sit there and wait… One day I decided to stop again at a fast food joint on I80 in Illinois on my way to Chicago. It’s a good place to stop since they have parking for tractor trailers. On this day I followed two other truckers in who had been talking on the CB and the comments they made implied they were new to this area and they decided to stop at the same place. At the counter they placed their order and I placed mine.
As I reach for my money so that it was ready when my food arrived, I hear their waitress say, “Here is your order, and with your trucker discount your bill is __.” I looked at my server and asked, “Does this price include my trucker discount?” Again I get the, “Are you a truck driver?”
No, I just wear this uniform for everyone’s amusement. Why did you give these two strangers a trucker’s discount when you have no proof they drive a truck, and I’m in uniform and you ignore me? And on top of that, I’ve been stopping in here at least three times a week!
While I was having my tantrum, I see that the fry person is bagging my order and she filled that sack half full of fries for me to make up for the treatment I was given. I got my discount, the extra fries, and out the door I went.
I do not understand this kind of treatment. I always wear a clean uniform to be professional and this is the treatment I get? Does the public not understand that women drive trucks too??
Rhonda!
What an eye opener- Just checked the stats – over 10,000 women truck drivers- 5% of the profession. Am sure you have other stories as well- How are you treated by the male drivers? Similar to women in the military? I wonder how many other women workers in fields that are considered “male” have the same problem. I had a friend who was the first female firefighter in our town in Massachusetts. She had to work twice as hard at “being tough” and “taking trash” as the guys in order to be accepted-she never did get invited to throw back a few after work with the boys in the secret basement bar at the VFW in our otherwise dry town.
What’s so upsetting about your issue in this piece is that it sounds like it’s mostly women waitresses that are creating the problem? We’ve got to go in there and shake up their world – educate.
Thank you so much for shining a light into another corner of life and the American woman. I’m confident that we can come up with a solution- together. Women have never been afraid of the heavy lifting involved- we have no excuse now that we are defining the problem. Wonder if you put up a post-it in every truck stop ladies room that says “Proud to be a Women Trucker” or “Women Truckers Rock” just to let them know you’re there and not going away!
Thanks for stopping by Rhonda.
Apparently sexism knows no boundaries!!!
Leave your Response Want an avatar? Get a gravatar!
Community Room
February 22, 2012 at 11:22 am
February 17, 2012 at 2:39 pm
February 6, 2012 at 4:25 pm
January 30, 2012 at 2:36 pm
January 26, 2012 at 4:38 pm
January 23, 2012 at 1:04 pm
January 15, 2012 at 11:37 am
January 9, 2012 at 6:36 pm
BUILD your NETWORK
Our Network of College Women
Protecting our Teenage Girls
We’re in the Media »
Click to see our latest stories in the media
More Stories »Recent Comments
The Latest from our Blog
Archives
Pioneer Mentors
Blogroll
Find us Online