Examine gender disparities in the trucking industry & efforts toward positive change

On a special episode of the Women In Trucking show on Road Dog Trucking (Ch. 146), the association’s President and CEO Ellen Voie speaks with guests Kylla Lanier and Meera Joshi about how the trucking industry can address gender diversity issues through positive changes that ultimately benefit women (and men) employed in the industry. From driver to technician, safety director to engineer, CEO to dispatcher, the push for more women in all roles is the goal. Lanier and Joshi share their stories of challenges and opportunities to make the trucking industry better for all of us.

Kylla Lanier is the deputy director and co-founder of Truckers Against Trafficking, a 501(c)3 organization that exists to educate, equip, empower, and mobilize members of the trucking, bus, and energy industries to combat domestic sex trafficking. She speaks around the country about TAT’s mission and how the trucking industry is combatting human trafficking. She also trains law enforcement on human trafficking, the victim-centered approach, and how to identify human trafficking at routine interdiction and inspection stops. Ms. Lanier also handles social media for TAT including managing the Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube accounts. She’s been involved in the fight against human trafficking since 2007 when she helped initiate the state coalition against trafficking in Oklahoma.

Meera Joshi serves as the Deputy Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Most recently Joshi served as General Manager of the New York office of Sam Schwartz Transportation Consultants and visiting scholar at NYU’s Rudin Center for Transportation policy. Previously, Joshi served as chief regulator of New York City’s for-hire vehicle industry. Under her leadership, New York City mandated the reporting of granular trip data from large app operators, which informed landmark data-driven safety reforms, enforceable pay standards for drivers, and meaningful access to service for the disabled. Joshi was also an executive manager in city agencies charged with oversight of the New York City Police Department and Department of Corrections.