Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Checklist
Quarterly diversity and inclusion workflow for a motor carrier — typically owned by HR or the Safety Director with input from recruiting, dispatch, and the shop. Covers leadership commitment, driver recruiting, training, policies, terminal culture, and external reporting.
Leadership Commitment
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Publish the CEO's D&I statement fleet-wide
Distribute through the ELD driver-app inbox (Motive, Samsara, Geotab) so OTR drivers see it on the next login, plus terminal break-room postings for shop and yard staff. A safety-meeting email alone misses the 70%+ of the workforce that lives in the cab.
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Add D&I targets to the annual operating plan
Tie targets to operational metrics the leadership team already reviews — driver retention by demographic group, women-driver headcount, veteran-hire percentage, terminal manager bench depth. Stand-alone D&I goals divorced from the operating plan are the most common reason these programs stall.
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Fund the annual D&I budget line
Cover Women In Trucking membership, conference sponsorship (Accelerate!), recruiter training, ERG operating costs, and translation services for handbook and safety materials.
Collects number
Recruitment and Hiring
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Audit driver job postings for biased language
Review postings on Indeed, JobsInTrucks, Tenstreet, and DriverReach. Flag gendered phrasing ("he", "manpower"), unnecessary physical maximums beyond FMCSA medical-card requirements, and English-only language that exceeds Part 391.11(b)(2) reading/speaking standards.
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Rewrite flagged job postings with HR
Push the revised postings live on the recruiting platform (Tenstreet, DriverReach) and update any third-party board syndication. Re-run the audit after publication to confirm changes propagated.
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Post openings on WIT and HireVeterans boards
Syndicate CDL-A and shop technician openings to Women In Trucking's job board, HireVeterans, RecruitMilitary, and the local Workforce Investment Board. Track source-of-hire in Tenstreet so next year's posting spend can follow what actually converts.
Training and Development
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Deliver unconscious-bias training to dispatchers
Dispatchers control load assignment, home-time, and detention follow-through — the three biggest drivers of perceived fairness in the cab. Use case studies on lane assignment and miles distribution rather than generic corporate modules.
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Launch the driver mentorship pairing program
Pair new CDL-A hires with experienced drivers for the first 90 days — most voluntary turnover happens in this window. Prioritize same-language pairings for Spanish-primary drivers and intentional cross-pairings for women drivers entering male-dominated terminals.
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Sponsor attendance at the WIT Accelerate conference
Send a mix of office staff and drivers — sending only HR to a driver-facing conference misses the point. Budget for the Accelerate! Conference & Expo (Women In Trucking) and the NAMC trucking track when scheduling allows.
Policies and Procedures
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Update the harassment policy in the driver handbook
Address scenarios specific to motor carrier operations: shipper / consignee dock conduct, truck-stop incidents, team-driving arrangements, and trainer-trainee dynamics. Translate to Spanish if more than 10% of the driver workforce is Spanish-primary.
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Confirm the anonymous hotline reaches OTR drivers
Test the hotline number from a driver's cell during off-hours and from a truck-stop landline. Confirm Spanish-language intake and that the ELD-app deep link still resolves after the last firmware update.
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Escalate hotline gaps to the vendor
Open a vendor ticket with EthicsPoint / NAVEX / Lighthouse (whichever the carrier uses), reference the failing test scenario, and set a re-test date. Notify the safety director and HR director on the same email thread so the resolution is visible.
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Audit settlement statements for pay equity
Compare CPM, accessorial pay, and detention reimbursement across demographic groups for similar lanes and tenure. A gap on detention or layover pay often shows up first — it's discretionary and tied to dispatcher follow-up, which is exactly where bias creeps in.
Collects list
Workplace Culture
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Schedule cultural observance days on the dispatch calendar
Load Ramadan, Yom Kippur, Diwali, Juneteenth, and Veterans Day into the dispatch calendar at the start of the year so home-time requests don't compete with major holiday freight. Dispatchers should know these dates before tendering loads, not after a driver asks.
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Charter the Women In Trucking ERG
Identify an executive sponsor, set a quarterly meeting cadence, and fund a small ERG operating budget. The ERG should have a direct line to the safety director on cab and facility issues (sleeper-berth design, terminal restroom access, PPE sizing).
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Stock the terminal quiet and prayer room
A small dedicated room near the driver lounge — clean, lockable, with a prayer rug and a foldable mat — accommodates Muslim drivers' salat schedule and gives anyone a private space for a phone call home. Costs almost nothing; signals more than the all-hands email.
Communication and Accountability
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Publish the quarterly D&I dashboard to leadership
Include hires by source, voluntary turnover by demographic, promotion rate into driver-trainer and dispatcher roles, and hotline volume. Review at the same operations meeting that reviews CSA scores and DOT-recordable rate, not as a separate HR-only forum.
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Review driver retention by demographic group
Slice 90-day, 6-month, and 12-month retention by gender, race, and veteran status. The 90-day cliff is where mentorship pairings, terminal manager training, and dispatcher conduct show up in the numbers.
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Issue the annual D&I report to drivers and customers
Publish in plain language with the operating data behind the claims — shipper supplier-diversity programs increasingly require this as a condition of contract renewal. Push to the driver ELD-app inbox and the customer portal on the same day.
Collects file
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