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No place for delicate blooms
Page 9
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CM's truck-driving
columnist L Radley warns that any delicate flowers tempted behind the wheel by public money will soon wilt.„ I was having trouble trying to decide what to whine about this month, when last week's CM dropped onto the mat, complete with the headline: "Taxpayers' money will put women behind the wheel." Now I'm the last person to start objecting to equal opportunities for all. But this scheme, and others like it, will not help. Look at what is being offered. Flexible training schedules to fit in around family commitments? Female trainers and mentoring? Nice ideas... but what are these lasses going to do when they've passed their test and can't match those conditions in the real world?
I think a lot of us would give significant chunks of our anatomy to be able to carry on driving and be around for our families. But the nature of our jobs makes that an unrealistic proposition. If you can't arrange childcare around the relatively standard hours of driver training, your chances of getting a lob are virtually nil. As a result, the whole exercise is rendered a waste of moneymoney that could be used to train drivers of whatever gender who are in a position to put in the hours. And those drivers would be more likely to stay in and contribute to the industry.
And if you need a female trainer to be confident enough to do the lessons, what are you going to do the first time someone unleashes a torrent of sexist abuse on you in the yard? Especially when that person is quite likely to be your boss and won't have the faintest idea that he's doing anything wrong. Yes, it is unacceptable, but sending in delicate flowers who can't give as good as they get isn't going to change it.
If you look at this problem head on, you'll find that all the things that are putting women off getting behind the wheel are putting men off as well, Long hours, low pay, inflexibility, dirt, and sleeping in a tn box as opposed to regular hours, average pay, flexitime as standard, a clean office and your own bed every night. A hard choice? I don't think so.
"All the things that are putting women off getting behind the wheel of a truck are putting men off as well