Men may be from Mars and women may be from Venus, but are there also distinctions between the sexes when it comes to matters of occupational safety and health? A critical analysis of data from around the world indicates that there are indeed gender-specific hazards that may place women at heightened risk for development of occupational illnesses and injuries. Moreover, many occupational safety and health models are based on statistical information or epidemiological studies dominated by male workers. As a consequence, the impact of chemical exposures and workplace stressors upon female workers may be largely unexplored. Lost-time differences by gender also are often ignored in research agendas. For example, the average time lost for women per occurrence is 8.5 weeks versus 6.5 weeks for men; over 14 percent of women's injuries results in absences longer than 25 weeks, which indicates a higher severity rate. These issues deserve further exploration by researchers and case management by employers.
Historically, occupational safety and health (OSH) research has concerned industrial work and focused on male workers, leaving significant research gaps in occupational sectors dominated by women. Even today, relatively little is known about OSH risks to women, although work outside home generally is linked to better mental and physical health, and longer life expectancy. Moreover, standards set by the United States Department of Labor, through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), fail to account for off-the-job exposures of women to chemicals or differences in biological responses by gender. Personal protective equipment (PPE) and work equipment design specifications have been designed and manufactured with orientation to male anthropomorphic models.
This paper explores industrial situations that pose hazards for working women, as well as issues that warrant further study by industry, labor and governmental researchers. Employers have a responsibility to provide a safe and healthful work environment for all workers. Although it is illegal to discriminate against certain classes of workers based upon gender, additional protections may be required in certain circumstances to ensure that women are not placed at increased risk of harm from exposure to workplace toxins or safety hazards, and to afford women equal protection with respect to respirators, safety harnesses, and similar equipment.
Currently, women constitute 46 percent of workers in the United States, and approximately 75 percent of these women work full-time. When scrutinizing the status of employed American women, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) found that 40 percent hold technical, sales and administrative support positions, 32 percent work in managerial and professional specialties, and 17 percent work in service occupations. Significantly, in 1999, 3.7 million American women held multiple jobs outside the home.
