Breaking the Glass Ceiling: First Female Trucker in Amazon India from NE

WOMEN TRAILBLAZER

Joycy Lyngdoh of Meghalaya recently took up the job of a truck driver with Amazon's trucking partner in the nation. With this, she is the first female truck driver to work with Amazon's trucking partner. The 35-year-old woman is redefining the gender roles and inspiring many. Joycy possesses over six years of driving experience. She has taken this decision to provide for herself and her family.

Long gone are the days when society could dominate women and limit their working capabilities. Also gone are the days when labels like 'this is the work of a male', or 'this work is not meant for a women' could do what it used to do. Women have battled gender stereotypes for decades and centuries. Their sheer determination, grit and their individuality helped them break down the walls of work stereotype brick by brick. They tore down the walls, broke the glass ceiling, crossed the barriers and paved a path for the new breed of women to chase their dreams and desires, to validate their existence.

Driving as a profession was previously seen as a man's job, especially commercial driving. The current scenario hasn't differed much. We come across a female driver in public transports very rarely. In fact, they are non-existent. A large number of women do drive. But they drive their personal cars. The profession of commercial driving is something that a woman still won't prefer on the first hand or be allowed by her peers to do so. The age-old gender stereotypes have probably limited certain women to remain unemployed, even when they have driving skills and the option to choose it as their profession.

A woman from the Northeast region of India recently broke the stereotype revolving around this gender role. Joycy Lyngdoh of Meghalaya recently took up the job of a truck driver with Amazon's trucking partner in the nation. With this, she is the first female truck driver to work with Amazon's trucking partner. The 35-year-old woman is redefining the gender roles and inspiring many. Joycy possesses over six years of driving experience. She has taken this decision to provide for herself and her family. This step of hers is now inspiring the women of her community to choose their respective passion and make it their profession, irrespective of the previously defined gender roles. Many women will now take their love for driving to the next level, using it as a means of earning.

Since Joycy grew up in the region, she is quite familiar with the routes and passes here. She doesn't find it difficult to drive a truck in her state or region. According to her, it is a matter of pride.

For Lyngdoh, this is not the first of her ventures to provide for herself and her family. Lyngdoh, who has been the sole bread winner for her family for a long time, worked in several companies in Guwahati- the capital city of Assam. She is responsible for looking after her mother and three of her younger sisters. After she completed her studies, she worked in various places, which includes a steel company and as a store manager in a local shop. While she was living her life trying to make ends meet with various work, she also trained herself and learned the skill of driving from some of her friends. She realized during the learning process that she also possesses a good sense of safety.

Lyngdoh began her journey by driving a school bus. Subsequently she also worked as a part-time driver at various places across the city. This passion of hers and the urge to explore and empower herself more led her to enroll herself with Amazon's trucking partner as a driver. It was a delightful moment when she got selected. With this, Lyngdoh is now one of Amazon's truck drivers for deliveries in and around Guwahati city.

Lyngdoh loves to be out on the road. She loves travelling to different places and meeting new people. According to her, the opportunity to become a driver with Amazon's trucking partner inspired her to pursue her passion of living a self-sufficient life. She advices other women who wants to undertake driving as a profession to believe in themselves, which will eventually open up more opportunities for them. She however, expresses that she has never felt judged even though the profession has been male dominated since ancient times. She enjoys the respect that she earns through her job.

Although the present goal of the 35-year-old is to continue her journey with the e-commerce giant, she would like to take on each day as it comes to her.

In this context of women empowerment and women employment, the e-commerce giant Amazon has been making remarkable efforts. They are constantly driving towards their commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity (DE&I), and paving ways for more female participation in their workspace. They are fostering diversity in the logistics space.

Amazon also provides the trucking partners with secure health and accident insurance benefits by engaging directly with the company's insurance provider. It has also enabled its drivers through technology-driven measures a safe driving comfort. Additionally, the company also help their drivers on navigation so that they can efficiently move packages. The drivers are capable of on-time movement through the help of the company and goes through a process of reporting delays and disruptions while they are travelling from one place to another. The company also has certain programmes catering to their driver safety training. Through these programmes, they have launched dedicated road safety ambassadors at each of the Amazon's sites. They provide training to drivers on important aspects of road safety and inspecting vehicles on parameters, which are not visually noticeable. All these measures make it easier for the women drivers to be a trucker and face the challenges on their way.

Also Read: Upcoming Festivals of Northeast India: Winter 2022

Also Watch: