Members of the international road transport union, the IRU, have voted to adopt a new Charter for Women in Road Transport, which sets out six core principles for the sector to follow to increase women’s participation across the industry’s workforce.
The IRU said the move underscores the commitment of the road transport industry to improving the efficiency, attractiveness and professionalism of the sector – notably by responding to challenges in workforce and skills shortages.
It added that a key pillar of this strategy is increasing women’s participation in mobility and logistics – as employees, drivers and managers – by promoting career opportunities and addressing the practical, social and cultural barriers that prevent women from entering and thriving in the industry.
The Charter for Women in Road Transport, adopted at the 2026 IRU General Assembly in Geneva, advances six core principles to open the industry to more women. These are:
1. Recruit neutrally: Use recruitment approaches with clear and specific job descriptions that attract both qualified female and male candidates
2. Empower career development: Ensure that learning opportunities are equally open to women and men
3. Align pay: Pay women and men equally based on their role, experience and skills rather than their gender
4. Work-life balance: Promote a healthy balance between work responsibilities and personal lives, including reintegration into work after maternity leave
5. Address conflicts: Develop an open, transparent process for employees to raise concerns about issues such as bullying
6. Champion safe, secure and dignified working environments: Support the need for all to invest in better parking, depots and terminal stations for professional drivers – with particular attention to the needs of women
The charter builds on IRU work over recent years in diagnosing challenges for women working in the industry around the world, surveying and analysing workforce issues, including on driver shortages, and supporting the industry on recruitment and retention of female employees.
