Sunday, November 12, 2023

It’s Time for Proper Female-Specific PPE

If employers are serious about attracting more women to work in the skilled trades, they’ll need to rethink the protections available to them

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According to a report, 58 percent of women said they sometimes use PPE that is the wrong size, 28 percent said they don’t use all the required PPE because it doesn’t fit properly, and 38 percent have devised workarounds (e.g., duct tape). In short, women’s PPE often doesn’t fit, is uncomfortable to wear, and doesn’t provide the protection it is supposed to.

Forty percent of the 3,000 women surveyed said they have experienced an injury or incident related to PPE. “There’s the psychological aspect of not feeling confident and professional in your gear,” says Jennifer Teague, CSA Group vice president for standards research and planning, which conducted the survey. “But there's a significant portion that don't feel safe in their gear.”

The survey found that 50 percent of respondents said their PPE does not fit properly, 43 percent said it is uncomfortable, and 38 percent said current women-specific PPE is inadequate. Teague says there’s a “shrink it and pink it” mentality among PPE producers. But proper PPE designed for men can’t just be shrunk and expected to perform the same for women. And many women are not interested in wearing pink on the job site for fear of not being taken seriously.

Women in the study also reported being afraid to raise the issue with their employer. Some simply went ahead and paid for better PPE out of pocket without seeking reimbursement.

If employers are serious about attracting more women to work in the skilled trades, they’ll need to rethink the protections available to them.

Sources: thesafetymag.com, Daily Commercial News

It’s Time for Proper Female-Specific PPE

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