Gender Issues - Page 2 of 3

MODULE 7: PSYCHOSOCIAL ISSUES AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS IN OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
SECTION 6: GENDER ISSUES IN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY - Introduction

INTRODUCTION:

This lecture will explore aspects of occupational health and safety from a gender perspective and attempts to make more visible the nature of women’s work, the lack of adequate health and safety training, the lack of occupational health services, and the enabling role of participatory forms of research. There is reference to the impact of societal norms which have an adverse effect on women’s work and why women are considered to be more vulnerable as workers. The lecture refers to aspects of men’s occupational health and safety, what the risks are and emphasises the central importance of making workplaces safe and healthy for women and men rather than having selective exclusionary policies for women during the child bearing years or during pregnancy. There is specific reference to gender aspects of work in the agricultural sector and the impact of HIV/AIDS on work in this sector.

THE IMPORTANCE OF INCLUDING A GENDER PERSPECTIVE IN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY PROGRAMMES:

There are differences in the working lives of women and men and these impacts on their occupational health and safety. International organisations such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as well as Agencies such as the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (the Agency) have made concerted efforts to integrate gender into occupational health and safety activities. In support of this objective, the Agency has produced a report examining gender differences in workplace injury and illness, gaps in knowledge and the implications for improving risk prevention. ¹

Key conclusions of the report:

Continuous efforts are needed to improve the working conditions of both women and men.
Gender differences in employment conditions have a major impact on gender differences in work-related health outcomes. Research and interventions must take account of the real jobs that men and women do and differences in exposure and working conditions.
We can improve research and monitoring by systematically including the gender dimension in data collection, adjusting for hours worked and basing exposure assessment on the real work carried out. Epidemiological methods should be assessed for any gender bias. Indicators in monitoring systems, such as national accident report and surveys, should effectively cover occupational risks to women.
Work-related risks to women’s health and safety have been underestimated and neglected compared to men’s, both regarding research and prevention. This imbalance should be addressed in research, awareness raising and prevention activities.
Taking a gender-neutral approach in policy and legislation has contributed to less attention and fewer resources being directed towards work-related risks to women and their prevention. European health and safety directives do not cover (predominantly female) domestic workers. Women working informally, for example wives or partners of men in family farming businesses, may not always be covered by legislation. Gender impact assessment should be carried out on existing and future occupational health and safety directives, standard setting and compensation arrangement.
Based on current knowledge of prevention and mainstreaming gender into OSH, existing directives could be implemented in a more gender-sensitive way, despite the need for gender-impact assessment and attention to gaps in knowledge.
Gender-sensitive interventions should take a participatory approach, involving the workers concerned and based on an examination of the real work situation.
Improving women’s occupational safety and health cannot be viewed separately from wider discrimination issues at work and in society. Employment equality actions should include OSH. Activities to mainstream occupational safety and health into other policy areas, such as public health or corporate social responsibility initiatives, should include a gender element.
Women are under-represented in decision-making concerning occupational health and safety at all levels. They should be more directly involved and women’s views, experiences, knowledge and skills should be reflected in formulating and implementing OSH strategies.
There are successful examples of including or targeting gender in research approaches, interventions, consultation and decision-making, tools and actions. Existing experiences and resources should be shared.
While the general trends in women’s working conditions and situation are across the Member States and candidate countries, there are also country differences within these general trends. Individual countries should examine their particular circumstances regarding gender and OSH, in order to plan appropriate actions.
Taking a holistic approach to OSH, including the work-life interface, broader issues in work organization and employment would improve occupational risk prevention, benefiting both women and men.
Women are not a homogeneous group and not all women work in traditionally "female" jobs. The same applies to men. A holistic approach needs to take account of diversity. Actions to improve work-life balance must take account of both women’s and men’s working schedules and be designed to be attractive to both.

Tables 1 and 2 provide important information with regards to gender differences in risks and health outcomes as well as the hazards and risks found in female dominated work.

**Table 1: Examples of gender differences in risks and health outcome**
Hazard/health outcome	More exposure/greater incidence	Comments
Accidents	Men	Men have a higher rate, even after adjustments are made for fewer hours worked by women
Upper limb disorder	Women	High incidences are found in some highly repetitive work carried out by such as "light" assembly-line work and data-entry work, where they have little control over the way they work.
Heavy lifting	Men	But, for example, women in cleaning and catering and care work suffer injuries from heavy lifting and carrying
Stress	Women	Both report high rates, but stressors particular to ‘women’s work include sexual harassment, discrimination, low status jobs with little control, emotionally demanding work and double burden of paid work and unpaid work in the home
Violence from the public	Women	Women workers have more contact with members of the public
Noise/hearing loss	Men	Women in textile and food production can be highly exposed, for example
Occupational cancer	Men	Women have higher rates in certain manufacturing industries, for example
Asthma and allergies	Women	For example, from cleaning agents, sterilizing agents and dust in protective latex gloves used in healthcare and dusts in textile and clothing manufacture
Skin diseases	Women	For example, due to working with wet hands in jobs such as catering, or from skin contact with cleaning agents or hairdressing chemicals
Infectious diseases	Women	For example, in healthcare or work with children
Inappropriate work and protective equipment	Women	Many work clothes and equipment have been designed for the "average man", causing problems for many women and "non-average" men
Reproductive health	Both	Neglected areas include fertility, menstrual disorder, menopause and male reproductive health
Inappropriate work hours	Both	Men are more likely to work very long paid hours, women do more unpaid work in the home. Both want a better work-life balance
Adapted from Gender issues in safety and health at work - A review. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. 2003.

**Table 2: Examples of hazards and risks found in female-dominated work**
Work area	Risk factors and health problems include:
	Biological	Physical	Chemical	Psychosocial
Healthcare	Infectious diseases, e.g. blood borne, respiratory, etc	Manual handling and strenuous postures; ionizing radiation	Cleaning, sterilizing and disinfecting agents; drugs; anaesthetic gases	‘Emotionally demanding work; shift and night work; violence from clients and the public
Nursery workers	Infectious diseases, e.g. particularly respiratory	Manual handling, strenuous postures		"Emotional work"
Cleaning	Infectious diseases, dermatitis	Manual handling, strenuous postures; slips and falls; wet hands	Cleaning agents	Unsocial hours; violence, e.g. if working in isolation or late
Food production	Infectious diseases, e.g. animal borne and from mould, spores, organic dusts	Repetitive movements, e.g. in parking jobs or slaughterhouse, knife wounds; cold temperatures; noise	Pesticides residues; sterilizing agents; sensitizing spices and additives	Stress associated with repetitive assembly line work
Catering and restaurant work	Dermatitis	Manual handling; repetitive chopping; cuts from knives and burns; slips and falls; heat; cleaning agents	Passive smoking; cleaning agents	Stress from hectic work, dealing with the public, violence and harassment
Textiles and clothing	Organic dusts	Noise; repetitive movements and awkward postures; needle injuries	Dyes and other chemicals, including formaldehyde in permanent presses and stain removal solvents; dust	Stress associated with repetitive assembly line work
Laundries	Infected linen, e.g. in hospitals	Manual handling and strenuous postures; heat	Dry cleaning solvents	Stress associated with repetitive fast pace work
Ceramics sector		Repetitive movements; manual handling	Glazes, lead, silica dust	Stress associated with repetitive assembly line work
"Light" manufacturing		Repetitive movements, e.g. in assembly work; awkward postures; manual handling	Chemicals in microelectronics	Stress associated with repetitive assembly line work
Call centres		Voice problems associated with talking; awkward postures; excessive sitting	Poor indoor air quality	Stress associated with dealing with clients, pace of work and repetitive work
Education	Infectious diseases, e.g. respiratory, measles	Prolonged standing; voice problems	Poor indoor air quality	"Emotionally demanding work", violence
Hairdressing		Strenuous postures, repetitive movements, prolonged standing; wet hands; cuts	Chemical sprays, dyes, etc	Stress associated with dealing with clients; fast paced work
Clerical work		Repetitive movements, awkward postures, back pain from sitting	Poor indoor air quality; photocopier fumes	Stress, e.g. associated with lack of control over work, frequent interruptions, monotonous work
Agriculture	Infectious diseases, e.g. animal borne and from mould, spores, organic dusts	Manual handling, strenuous postures; unsuitable work equipment and protective clothing; hot, cold, wet conditions	Pesticides	Stress associated with temporary or seasonal work; job insecurity; low wages
Adapted from: Adapting to change in work and society: A new community strategy on health and safety at work, 2002-2006. Communication from the European Commission, COM (2002) 118 final

REFERENCES:

Gender issues in safety and health at work - A review. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.http://agency.osha.eu.int/publications/reports/209/en/index.htm