One Size Does Not Fit All

Unfortunately, women requiring PPE sometimes either are forced to or choose to “make do” and wear equipment designed for men.
In some cases, the PPE can hinder rather than protect. While the issue is beginning to be acknowledged and addressed by some employers and manufacturers, researchers are now calling on the industry to do more to protect women effectively.
They are the unions, employers, employer associations, workplace health and safety organizations, and community groups who work to turn innovative ideas on employment equity into real gains for women; to encourage the development of employment equity programs in the workplace.

The limited availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) for women is a critical workplace health and safety issue. In addition to undermining efforts to protect worker health and safety, lack of adequate PPE can be a barrier to equality of employment opportunity for women.
Women bring with them specific employment equity issues. These include the need for:
Equal pay for work of equal value.
Freedom from sexual harassment.
Integration in all occupations at all levels.
Access to proper fitting personal protective equipment.

Personal protective equipment is considered to be the last line of defense against hazards in the workplace. Advocates for workers in high-risk occupations emphasize the continuing need to control or eliminate hazards, rather than require workers to protect themselves with personal protective equipment. For example, hearing protectors eliminate or reduce the chances of hearing loss (provided they fit, are appropriate, and are used properly), but they do not eliminate the hazard – in this case, noise. PPE will, however, continue to be required in many work situations.

In many cases, women requiring personal protective equipment are forced to ‘make do’ and wear equipment designed for men. Some women, particularly those who work in all-male sites, are reluctant to draw attention to their special needs. With a relatively small female component in non-traditional occupations, many manufacturers are reluctant to invest in the necessary research and development to produce correctly sized and proportioned products. The result, ill-fitting protective equipment, can jeopardize the health and safety of female workers and their co-workers. Here are some examples:

A woman with a small face wears the goggles available in the shop. The gaps they leave at her temples allow flying debris from her machine to enter her eyes.
A female worker in a sawmill can only get small men’s-sized gloves; the fingers are too long and too wide, the palm area too large, and the cuff allows sawdust to fill the fingers. She risks getting her fingers caught in machinery and pinched when she stacks or carries boards.
A woman who wears men’s-sized work boots complains of tripping while walking and climbing stairs or ladders. She suffers from blisters and burning on the soles of her feet. Also, because her boots are too large, her toes are not protected by the steel cap.

The economy had changed so that two incomes were now necessary. Some women were attracted by non-traditional jobs requiring new skills, challenges, and better pay than traditional female-dominated occupations. These are jobs where women make up less than one-third of the total workforce in that job category.
What women found were workplaces geared to predominantly white male employees. Manufacturers and suppliers of personal protective products produced and sold items suitable for this white male workforce. Now, this scenario is outdated, not only because of the increase of women workers but also because changing immigration patterns have resulted in the employment of males from various ethnic groups, some of whom are smaller in stature than white males.
Indeed, some employers had already begun training and apprenticing women to meet the labor market demand of the future. Employment equity initiatives were also expected to have an impact on employers in terms of recruiting women to achieve equitable representation.

The situation regards to PPE and protective clothing for women has improved dramatically during these years. Hundreds of products designed with women in mind now are available from manufacturers and distributors.
While businesses have developed with the recognized need for safety equipment designed, sized, and styled with women in mind.