Pink taxi drivers in Nghe An

(Baonghean.vn) -Late nights driving on the highway, meals left unfinished, even the slander of outsiders… However, they always have a steady hand on the wheel, making friends with the roads despite facing many risks. “As a woman entering this profession, it is certain that there are many difficulties. Only by loving the job can you stay” – Ms. Hang (43 years old, Mai Linh taxi driver) shared.

In Nghe An, only Mai Linh taxi company has female drivers. Out of more than 1,300 drivers, there are only 4 female drivers, including: Ms. Le Thi Thu Hang, Ms. Hoang Thi Mai, Ms. Tran Thi Giang and Ms. Hoang Thi Thuong. Doing a job that is considered for men, they make men admire them.

"Grandma" drives a taxi

Born in 1973,Ms. Le Thi Thu Hang has been a taxi driver for nearly 7 years and is one of the most dedicated people to Mai Linh One Member Co., Ltd. Through many difficulties and prejudices, up to now, Ms. Hang has always been the one who brings in high revenue for the company.

Ms. Le Thi Thu Hang - a female taxi driver has a grandchild.

Previously, Ms. Hang also drove a truck. Since her husband passed away 7 years ago, she switched to driving a taxi and has been sticking with the job until now. Her children are grown up and she has grandchildren, but she still chooses this job to stick with. Ms. Hang cannot remember how many kilometers she has traveled, how many long trips she has made such as: Thanh Hoa, Hanoi, Hue...

Coming to this profession unexpectedly, Ms. Hoang Thi Mai (45 years old) confided: Before, she went to driving school when her family was still well off, thinking that she would learn to buy a car when she got home. But many unexpected events happened, and because of financial hardship, she switched to driving a taxi. Since she started working in this profession until now, no one in her family agreed to let her do this job. Everyone told her to quit her job. This profession is inherently risky, especially for women, it is even more complicated.

As for female driver Le Thi Thu Hang, her children have asked her to quit many times, but it seems that this job is "in her blood" so she cannot quit. And among the company's more than 1,300 drivers, Ms. Hang is always in the top in terms of work efficiency. In many months, she is even at the top in terms of sales.

Role models of overcoming difficulties

Female driver Hoang Thi Mai.

The nature of the job is quite special, women in this profession have to accept twice the hardships of men.“What can women do to drive? Let’s see how long they can last” - people have whispered about them. Yet Ms. Hang has been in this profession for more than 7 years, Ms. Giang, Ms. Mai, Ms. Thuong have been in this profession for at least 4 years. In particular, they all said that women in this profession are trusted by customers because they are thoughtful and careful. But because of their status as women, they have to face many disadvantages.

Ms. Mai recounted that once she went with a customer to Thanh Chuong, picking them up and dropping them off all day, but in the end she was cheated out of the car fare, more than 3 million VND that no one wanted to pay. The police intervened many times but in the end she still had to pay out of her own pocket to compensate the company. She said that women are weak, so many customers use that as an excuse to tease or find fault with them.

Mr. Ho Xuan Viet - Chairman of the Trade Union of Mai Linh Nghe An One Member Co., Ltd. said that recruiting female drivers is not much different from recruiting men. The only difference is that the company often goes directly to the female employees' residential area to "verify" before recruiting. "It is also to understand more about the family background, psychology, and living conditions of the sisters and from there, we can pay better attention to them" - Mr. Viet also affirmed that although they are women, these drivers are always exemplary people of the whole unit. "It is also because they truly love their work and find joy on the roads they travel" - Mr. Viet shared more.

Tra My