Jacquelene Brotherton

In her own words

My parents bought the North Bourke roadhouse in August 1970 and that is when I joined the industry. We were the last fuel stop before crossing the Queensland border and we had a well-used phone box at the front of the store, as this was before mobile phones. When I was 13, I would get straight off the school bus, change out of my uniform, and work in the store.

My parents were extremely supportive, but you were expected to work hard. My Father was a drover so as soon as you could ride a horse you were following sheep six miles a day. What I learnt from an early age is that it is important to work hard, be honest, your reputation is everything and that girls can do anything. Dad believed there were no doors not open to his daughters and that was quite different to the thinking of the day. He drilled into each of us seven kids that it did not matter what you did, as long as you were the best you could be at it - whether you were the street sweeper or the prime minister. You had to give it your all and make sure you took on what you really wanted to do.

In 1978 I joined a livestock transport company and built my career over the next 17 years with them, including an opportunity to serve as a committee member of the Livestock Transporters Association of NSW. The Association lobbied for better conditions, and I took on the secretariat role, organised conferences and wrote their newsletters. I was the only women and close to the youngest on the committee and I loved it.

After my marriage ended, I worked in different jobs across the industry, and across different cities. In 2001 I moved out of livestock transport for the first time into general freight to learn new skills and worked in fleet management, compliance, and safety. In 2007 when I shifted into warehousing with Oxford Logistics Group, I became involved with the Refrigerated Warehouse and Transport Association of Australia and Chair of its transport committee. I also advocated for better roads as Chair of Wyndham Industrial Liaison Development (WILD) committee, and I became very involved in the local community. We successfully advocated, with the local council, for the $53 million upgrade of what had been a goat track into a beautiful new road and that is something of which I am proud.

I joined Transport Woman of Australia Limited (TWAL) as a member in 2003 and took on the role of Chair between 2009 and 2011, and again from 2017. We have had made great progress with our lobbying and programs at TWAL including the launch of our Creating Connections mentoring program, and the Driving the Difference scholarships, awarded to women of any age entering or advancing within the transport and logistics industry. In 2019, we introduced the Trish Pickering Memorial Award to recognise the contribution of women to the industry and we have also introduced the Dream Maker Award in a joint venture with the Road Transport Hall of Fame at Alice Springs to recognise those outstanding people who do the work behind the scenes in trucking. 

TWAL has joined the National Rural Women’s Coalition and I sit on the Board as Treasurer, which, having come from outback Australia, resonates with me quite a bit. The Coalition approached us because they did not have a transport representative on its Board, and it is a great synergy for us. 

Driving excellence

In 2018 TWAL teamed up with the Wodonga TAFE and Volvo Group Australia to develop a women’s only driver licencing course. This became the Women Driving Transport careers program, TAFE felt that more women would participate if it were an all-female environment and the outcomes have been amazing. As well as getting their licence, the students learn about compliance, run sheets, and load restraint. Their employees give us a commitment that they will buddy them up and provide continuous education to support their entry into trucking. 

More than 150 women have done the course coming from a variety of walks of life, including the beauty and aged care industries. They form a bond with each other and their trainers, who often become mentors to them.

Change the words, change the world

We have so many incredible women role models in transport, but we tend to give them an award and send them into the sunset. We must showcase their stories more broadly and the opportunities across the industry beyond driving. 

We also need to upgrade our image and we had our first best chance during covid when people realised the importance of trucks when did not have toilet paper on their supermarket shelves. We were classified as essential workers and we need to keep that front of mind with the general public. Without us you can’t survive. I say: ‘it doesn’t matter what you eat, wear, or sleep in - it came on a truck.’

Within our own industry we are great at promoting our great stories, but we don’t extend that into a conversation with the general public. I try and accept as many opportunities as possible to talk about how wonderful the transport industry is and its importance within the community. I am so enthusiastic people can tell I love transport and they want to learn more.

I talk to a lot of employers who ask me: ‘how do I find more women?’ The very first thing I say to them is: ‘look at your recruitment advertisements. Even though you say everyone is welcome to apply, and you say you are an equal opportunity company, you are not saying how the job will fit in with their lifestyles.’ You must make it explicit that women will be welcomed in the organisation and industry. Some transport companies have not changed their job advertisements for 10 years! Language is so important. We made a rule in 2022 that the TWAL Board Members were not allowed to talk about transport being a ‘male dominated’ industry. Instead, the accepted language is: it is a ‘predominantly male’ industry. Men don’t dominate us - they support us - and unless you change your words you can’t change the world.

We definitely need more women and young people, but we should also look to attract our immigrants, refugees, returned soldiers, and post-covid change of career people because there are just so many opportunities and diversity of roles available to them.