Women in Safety: Gender Issues and Challenges over the Years

More women than ever are entering the fields of occupational safety and health, and while these are exciting opportunities in today's world, women have not always been welcomed in "non-traditional" occupations, especially in "high risk" industries such as mining, oil and gas extraction, construction, firefighting, and many, many others. This presentation will provide a general history of the role women have played in the U.S. workplace over the past one hundred years, including a personal history of the author's experiences in the mining industry. The emphasis on mining is not meant to ignore the experience of women working in other industries, but is used to illustrate the barriers and successes women encounter in the workplace. In any case, with over 40 years experience working in mining, it is what I know and the basis for my work experience. The Women in Safety Engineering (WISE) "100 Women" project and the successes of women working in the fields of safety through the past century will be incorporated. Included will be a discussion of what barriers have been removed, and which still remain, as well as comments and suggestions on how people just coming into occupational safety can create opportunities and make a difference in sending workers home safely for the next one hundred years.