FreightWaves has introduced a female AI-generated on-camera presenter into its content lineup. At the same time, visible female human representation on camera at FreightWaves appears limited. Those are observable facts.

And when a media outlet introduces a synthetic female presenter in an environment where real female on-camera representation is sparse, it creates a big optics issue, whether intentional or not.

I’ve been quietly gatekeeping this, but if you’re in France in January or July, it’s impossible to miss. Every shop window, from luxury boutiques to high-street chains, is plastered with the same word in bold letters: SOLDES.

To anyone visiting from outside France, it looks like a normal sale season. It’s not.

Les Soldes are a legally regulated national retail event, with fixed dates and strict rules. This is not just a marketing moment. It’s a very specific system.

So… what is Les Soldes?

In France, retailers are only allowed to run official Soldes twice a year:

• Winter Soldes (January–February)

• Summer Soldes (June–July)

These dates are set nationally. Retailers do not choose them, extend them, or move them around. When the window opens, it opens for everyone. When it closes, it closes for everyone.

Every time a new story breaks about trucking fraud, unsafe carriers, or tragic accidents, the same narrative rolls out:
“It’s the foreign carriers.”
“It’s the non-domiciled drivers.”
“It’s these fly-by-night operations ruining the industry.”

It’s predictable, emotional, and completely unhelpful.

Because here’s the truth: the biggest threat to North American trucking isn’t who is behind the wheel. It’s how the system allows people to slip through cracks that we all know are there.

When we keep blaming people instead of processes, we’re not solving problems, we’re fuelling hate and perpetuating the root issues.

If you spend any amount of time on LinkedIn in this industry, you’ve seen it: glossy corporate posts about “supporting women in trucking,” event recaps showing off all-female panels, and photo ops with hashtags about inclusion. And don’t get me wrong, it looks good. It makes us feel like progress is happening. But let’s be real: polished posts and performative panels don’t protect women from harassment, help close pay gaps, or create safer, fairer work environments for women in trucking and logistics.

Because when the spotlight shifts, the cracks show. We saw it in the way the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) handled harassment at their own event. We saw it when the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) quietly shut down its Sexual Harassment & Assault Study, the one initiative that could’ve given us actual data to build solutions with. Both are painful yet unsurpprising reminders that while the industry loves to say it supports women, actions often tell a different story.

Every time I turn on industry news, scroll through LinkedIn, or attend a conference, it’s the same faces (typically white males ones). The same CEOs running from appearance to appearance spouting the same talking points, occasionally calling each other out. 

Look, I get it. You’re the face of the company. But if you’re the only face, that’s a problem, not just for you, but for your business and the entire industry.