Page 28 - OHS, November/December 2022

PPE: PROTECTIVE APPAREL
Making PPE Safer by Design for Women in Industrial Jobs
Women’s PPE shouldn’t just be sized down, it should be designed for their bodies.
BY GENEVIEVE BAZIW AND AMBER IZWORSKI
In 2020, there were approximately 70 million women in the U.S. workforce, representing 56.2 percent of all workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data.1 While substantially underrepresented in traditionally male-dominated industries,
the number of women choosing to enter these roles continues to increase, a trend spurred by increasing opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics-related jobs.
According to a 2019 McKinsey report, 33 percent of entry- level employees in the oil & gas industry are women.2 And the American Petroleum Institute projects that employment of wom- en in the oil & gas and petrochemical industries will account for 185,000 of the total job opportunities through 2030.3
Despite the increasing number of women now working in these industries, there are still far too many who do not have ac- cess to PPE sized for women. Trying to “make do” with PPE de- signed for men is not only an issue of decreased comfort but also a matter of safety—potentially a matter of life and death.
Regulatory Compliance is Just the Beginning
Employers can be in compliance with OSHA regulations for PPE but may not be meeting the specific sizing needs of its female workforce. That’s because OSHA 29 CFR 1910.132 “General Requirements for Personal Protective Equipment” states that an employer shall assess the workplace for hazards, select PPE that will protect affected employees from the hazards identified and select PPE that properly fits each affected employee.4
Employers who offer the appropriate PPE for the identified hazards in a wide range of sizes will be in compliance with the regulation. However, if the PPE is designed for men, the women employees must deal with fit issues—compromising both com- fort and safety.
It is interesting to note that in OSHA 29 CFR 1910 Subpart I Appendix B, there is non-mandatory guidance that states “Care- ful consideration must be given to comfort and fit. PPE that fits poorly will not afford the necessary protection. Continued wear- ing of the device is more likely if it fits the wearer comfortably. Protective devices are generally available in a variety of sizes. Care should be taken to ensure that the right size is selected.” 5
Proper Fit is Vital for Safety
Just as there is no such thing as one-size-fits-all PPE, it is unrealistic to expect that PPE based on male anthropometric (body measurement) data would fit women properly. When PPE does not fit properly, it may fail to protect the worker against the hazards for which it was designed.
For example, when a woman is wearing a flame-resistant (FR) garment designed for a man, the sizing and measurements are off, resulting in a looser and baggier fit, which can put the wear- er’s safety at serious risk. After all, PPE is the last line of defense against workplace hazards.
In addition to FR garments and other protective apparel that doesn’t fit properly, women face challenges with work gloves and
safety goggles that are often too large, as well as the lack of ma- ternity PPE.
Ill-fitting PPE can reduce mobility and impair physical dex- terity, adversely affecting productivity and—more importantly— posing safety risks, such as tripping hazards or loose fabric get- ting caught in machinery.
“I’ve never had a coverall that fit appropriately and if you don’t have something that fits, you can’t do certain tasks safely,” said Joy Jacobsen, MS, CIH, CSP, CRSP, EP, Industrial Hygienist at Amsted Rail, past chair of the American Industrial Hygiene As- sociation Women in Industrial Hygiene Committee and chair of the AIHA Respiratory Protection Committee. “You can unknow- ingly exclude people by not having proper PPE to do the work,” she added.
When PPE is uncomfortable or doesn’t fit properly, many workers—regardless of gender—either don’t wear it or try to modify it while on the job. These practices lead to a high number of injuries. In fact, a survey of 1,000 safety professionals identi- fied failure to wear PPE as the second-leading cause of workplace injuries.6
PPE for Women that is Safer by Design
Industry associations, PPE manufacturers and major employers alike are increasingly recognizing the importance of providing female workers with PPE that is safer by design, and they are taking steps to make it happen.
For example, in 2018, the American Society of Safety Profes- sionals (ASSP) hosted a summit on the safety of women in the workplace. The top issue addressed during the summit was how to close the gap in availability of PPE designed specifically for women and “educating leadership about the need for and avail- ability of such equipment.”7
Summit participants developed a list of action items that em- ployers and other stakeholders could take to help improve the availability of PPE for women, such as gathering data to develop universal fit guidelines; providing ratings of PPE and work gear; publishing guidance for equipment users; and participating in an ASSP technical report that would include guidance on selecting PPE for different populations.8
The following year, the International Safety Equipment Asso- ciation began a collaboration with ASSP and its Women in Safety Excellence Common Interest Group to help educate employers and other stakeholders about this important issue.
New Product Offerings
Some PPE manufacturers have already expanded their product offerings to meet this crucial need. And the new products are not simply scaled-down versions of men’s PPE; they are designed specifically for women.
A good example is what a major manufacturer of FR garments has recently introduced to meet the needs of women working in the oil & gas or petrochemical industries. Their new FR shirts for
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