Editor’s Commentary: Women In Rail –– Progress, But a Long Way to Go

Canadian National

RAILWAY TRACK AND STRUCTURES DECEMBER 2023 ISSUE –– CHICAGO –– I was fortunate to participate in the Railway Age/Railway Track and Structures “Women in Rail” conference in Chicago on November 2, 2023.

Three of my colleagues, Railway Age Executive Editor Marybeth Luczak and Senior Editor Carolina Worrell, along with Railway Track and Structures Managing Editor Jennifer McLawhorn, and several colleagues in the rail industry, did the heavy lifting in preparing and presenting the content of this conference, and we have received good feedback on the quality and usefulness of the event.

         I came away from the conference with a lot of positive examples of women who have been successful in the railroad industry in all types of jobs and at all levels. To learn who some of them are, all you need to do is read the special articles both magazines have had on leading women in rail over the past few years. Railway Age covers women from all areas of the industry, and Railway Track & Structures covers those in rail engineering. Importantly, I’m glad to point out that two of North America’s Class I CEOs are women.

         For me, one of the highlights of the conference was the open and honest dialog between the audience and members of the panels that covered the various topics. The transparency demonstrated by participants revealed some wonderful examples of strong accomplishments among women in the industry, and that there has been significant progress toward inclusion of women. Yet, there were also experiences shared by some that reminded everyone that women are often not treated with the respect they deserve, and that efforts to attract women to the industry must be strengthened.

         First, please understand that I’d rather not devote the bulk of the column to negative experiences. However, I believe looking at the situation through rose colored glasses doesn’t help anyone and certainly doesn’t promote continued progress in attracting talented women to the industry. And those who create those negative experiences, frankly –– men –– need to up their game and shed views and biases from the past. Of course, this does not include all men in the rail industry. I don’t have any real facts to support this, but I imagine that many men in the industry look upon their women colleagues with respect, admiring and supporting the work they do.

         Nevertheless, I heard some surprising experiences offered to the audience during open discussion, as well as remarks made privately. One of the first was that women comprise only 7% to 9% of the rail workforce, which was surprisingly low, to me at least. Here are experiences of some women that blew me away:

• When introduced to her male colleagues on the first day of employment, one of them remarked “Oh, another wench to help us run the railroad;”
• While in engineering school, the professor in one of her classes said: “This class is the one that separates the girls from the boys;”
• During a discussion between a male and female employee where the woman was “courteously aggressive,” her male colleague said “Look – your women’s lib stuff isn’t going to work here.”
• Not that it’s much consolation, but one attendee told a story about rudeness and disrespect shown her by a male colleague as soon as she arrived on the job. After several months of dealing with this harsh treatment, the male colleague said: “You probably know that when you arrived in this job, I didn’t want you here. I must say, though, that you stepped up, learned your job, and you do it well.”

Well, that last remark engenders the old saying when paying someone a very lukewarm compliment or even a smart aleck answer: “Well, give the dog a bone.” I doubt that this remark by the male colleague did much, if anything to make up for all the abuse she had endured to that point.

         Some could reasonably ask: “Well, David, you’re a man, are you telling me that you’ve never felt this way toward women in the workplace?” My answer is an unequivocal “NO – I’ve never felt this way.” For those who may be a little fuzzy on the meaning of “unequivocal,” the dictionary says it means “absolute; unqualified; not subject to conditions or exceptions.” I’m not saying this to toot my horn or to act as though I’m “above” men who are disrespectful of women in life or in the workplace. It’s just difficult for me to understand how any man could feel or act this way. It’s just plain wrong.

         I know this issue is not unique to the railroad industry. Unfortunately, it’s something women face in multiple areas of our society. Corporate America can assume a prominent role in eradicating this wretched behavior. However, leadership in our homes, schools, and other places is a big part of what’s required to enable women to achieve parity in the workplace.       

         Let me reiterate that the Women in Rail conference was a wonderful and well-executed event. It put women’s accomplishments in railroading in the spotlight and celebrated their achievements. The conference also confronted some difficult issues forthrightly. Moreover, I believe it motivated most in attendance to put their rose-colored glasses in a drawer.