London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

What's it like to be in the 1% of female lorry drivers?

What's it like to be in the 1% of female lorry drivers?

With the UK facing a chronic shortage of lorry drivers, some haulage firms are trying to attract more women to the profession, as currently only 1% of truck drivers are female.

Shanalee Johnson, who drives for one of the country's largest haulage firms, Wincanton, is part of that 1%.

The 28-year-old, who received her licence just before the pandemic hit the UK in February 2020, says her passion for driving and love of "anything that is a bit different or unorthodox" led her to seek a role in the haulage industry, after previously working night shifts in a supermarket.

"I have always been a night person," she says. "During the day there's so much more traffic, so learning at night, that was a bit easier on me personally. Even in my previous job I did nights."

As to why there are so few women driving lorries, Ms Johnson, who mostly carries out short trips around London, says the "stigma" that HGV driving is a "man's job" might be putting some people off.

"I have always loved it," she says. "I am kind of a tomboy, so for me I have got on really well with the men.

"I don't think they [the men] have ever made me feel out of place. If anything they have tried to help me.

"It's the same as driving a car isn't it? I'm actually excited to get up to go to work, to look forward to something. I see it as a career at this moment in time, it's really energising for me."

The scarcity of lorry drivers is not a new problem, but the effects of recent shortages have disrupted the supply chains of businesses and led to customers finding empty shelves in supermarkets and shops.

The coronavirus pandemic, Brexit and tax changes have all contributed to the lack of qualified drivers. Industry bodies estimate there is a shortage of about 100,000.

In a scramble to avoid stock shortages, companies such as Tesco, Aldi and John Lewis have increased driver wages and in some cases, offered lucrative joining bonuses.


It is not just women the industry is failing to recruit, but young people generally.

And, as one boss puts it, the idea that young people are not interested is a "myth", but they are put off by the costs involved in becoming a qualified driver.

Ms Johnson, who funded her own training, says that the cost of becoming a driver, which is estimated to be between £3,000 and £5,000 for training and tests, is a barrier and is "why people are put off by it".

"When you look around there's quite a lot of older people doing it," she says.

"There's nothing wrong with that - I think you can learn something from them. I think it really is to do with cost [of training]. A lot of people want to get into it."

Her employer Wincanton, which has 4,000 drivers of who just over 1% of women, has recently removed the costs of training by using the government's apprenticeship levy.


To address driver shortages, wholesale food and catering supplier JJ Foodservice is aiming to fill the gap by broadening its talent pool.

The company has launched a recruitment campaign to encourage more women to become HGV drivers.

The wholesaler said it was offering "permanent contracts with no evenings or weekends, salaries of up to £35K in London, and no gender pay gap".

The company is also using women in recruitment adverts and highlighting "support with wellbeing, which you might not associate with traditional HGV driver ads".

Wincanton's apprenticeship programme, launched eight months ago, received 1,500 applications from people under the age of 35, but many in the industry agree the sector has an unhelpful stereotype when it comes to attracting fresh talent.

Marcos Hart, Wincanton's group operations director, says the company put "greater focus" on attracting women and had used flexible working patterns to aid recruitment plans.

"It means a cultural shift, and challenging stereotypes on what kinds of people become drivers and what their backgrounds are or what they look like," he says.

He admits there still remains a need for longer-haul drivers who sleep in their cabs, but says they make up a relatively small proportion of the workforce, with most drivers back to base in a day.

Mr Hart says the current crisis is "more complex" than just a shortage of drivers, with an "exponential increase in demand" and shifts in consumer habits also contributing to the problem.

"There is a timing issue and there is a demand issue," he says. "Traditionally we would have two big peak periods in the grocery sector; Christmas and Easter. But now we are actually at a perpetual Christmas peak."

Danny Hobbs, managing director at recruitment firm StaffCo Direct, agrees that several factors have created the driver shortage, however, he believes the crisis has been "coming for the last five if not 10 years".

He says the job has not been profiled as an attractive one for young people to aspire to, and more work needs to be done to change perceptions.

"Right now, if you had a HGV licence, class one or class two, you could pick and choose what shifts, what hours, what days you work. It's literally that attractive," he says.

One potential solution to the crisis, he says, is to offer free tests for drivers wanting to upscale to HGV level or offer subsidised training courses.

Ms Johnson says if firms "give people the tools to help them", then more people will want to become lorry drivers. She adds that more companies are looking to help trainees with the costs of gaining a licence.


Industry bodies, including Logistics UK, have been lobbying the government to create temporary visas for HGV drivers from EU countries as a short-term solution while domestic drivers are recruited and trained.

The Road Haulage Association has called on ministers to put HGV drivers on the Home Office Shortage Occupation List.

However, the government has said it wants to see employers make "long term investments in the UK domestic workforce instead of relying on labour from abroad".

The Department for Transport has previously announced measures aimed at tackling the shortages, such as streamlining the process for new drivers to gain licences, increasing tests and temporarily relaxing driving hours rules.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
×