Gender at work and varying forms of exposure

Elke Schneider, Prevention and Research unit, EU-OSHA

ETUI conference Women´s health and work, 5th March 2015

Safety and health at work is everyone’s concern. It’s good for you. It’s good for business.
European Agency for Safety and
Health at Work (EU-OSHA)

• A body of the EU
• Established in 1996 in Bilbao, Spain
• To promote a culture of risk prevention to improve working
conditions in Europe, by providing technical, scientific and economic
information to serve the needs of those involved in safety and health
at work.
• Tripartite Board bringing together:
- governments, employers’ and workers’ organisations
- the European Commission

http://osha.europa.eu
3
What we do

 Research
• We identify and assess new and emerging risks at work
− e.g. foresight, ESENER (EU survey of enterprises on new and emerging risks)
• We mainstream OSH into other policy areas: public health, research,
environmental protection, transport, education, …
 Prevention
• We collect good practice examples
• We develop hands-on instruments for micro, small and medium-sized
enterprises to help them assess their workplace risks, share knowledge
and good practices on OSH
− OiRA (Online interactive risk assessment)
 Partnership
• We work with and network governments, employers’ and workers’
organisations, EU bodies, networks, and private companies
− e.g. our EU network of national Focal Points
 Campaigning
• We organise major bi-annual EU “Healthy Workplace Campaigns”:
− 2012-2013: Working together for risk prevention
− 2014-2015: Healthy workplaces manage stress
http://osha.europa.eu
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EU-OSHA mainstreams gender into its research

Carries out specific research to provide

reports and tools
◊ Review 2003 on gender issues
◊ Risk assessment factsheets – gender and
diversity
◊ Updated report on trends and issues 2014
◊ Report on mainstreaming tools and policies
2015
◊ Report on gender and age 2015

•Dedicated web section

•Factsheets in 22 languages
•eFacts, reports, for female-dominated sectors,
risks/health problems relevant to women
•Mainstreamed into all our activities (statistics,
surveys, tools, good practice, sectors and
occupations, research about vulnerable groups)
•Included in our campaigns

http://osha.europa.eu/en/priority_groups/gender
http://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/publications-overview?Subject:list=genderhttp://osha.europa.eu
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Recent trends

 Women still work mainly in services, segregation continues

 Increases in part-time work and mini-jobs, multiple employment
 Increases in employment and activity highest for women aged 55-64
 Older women work more in education, health and social work and public
administration, younger women more in HORECA and retail
 Female workforce ageing in some sectors – manufacturing, agriculture, health care,
education
 Increase in informal work, home/domestic services, difficult access for authorities
 Exposure to violence increasing
 Musculoskeletal disorders and mental health problems increasing
 Women´s access to rehabilitation and back-to-work limited
 Less access to consultation, worker representatives
 Younger and older, migrant women and those in personal services particularly
vulnerable
 Monitoring (accidents & health problems) does still not consider women enough, e.g.
typical accidents in education/health care not considered in statistical analysis
 Huge differences between Member states
 Little gender-specific information on impact of changes (e.g. technology)
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Combined risks - a major issue for women at work
Risk factors, conditions
• Exposure to biological & chemical agents
• Working in service sectors
• Working at clients premises
• Jobs not covered by OSH legislation
• Multiple roles
• Lack of information and training
• Low control, autonomy and support
• Prolonged standing and sitting
• Static postures
• Monotonous and repetitive work
• Moving loads repetitively and moving
people
• Client and patient contact
Outcomes
• Infectious diseases
• Skin disorders, asthma
• Stress and mental health problems
• Different accidents: slips, trips and falls,
violence-related, needlestick injuries,
cuts and sprains
• Fatigue and cognitive disorders
• Musculoskeletal disorders
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Gaps in practice - Rehabilitation and disability
Findings and recommendations

 Women with disabilities - at risk of double or triple discrimination.

 Accommodations for women basic or not existent.
 Rehabilitation schemes do not account for women’s needs, e.g. childcare needs during
rehabilitation.
 Employers to be encouraged to have flexible and effective rehabilitation/ back-to-work
policies, addressing female workers, temporary workers and part-timers, often women,
young or migrant workers.
 Pension systems and compensation not adapted.
An example from MS:
 In Sweden, disability pensions are more favourable to men. Women denied pension
when able to do housework, equates to a higher level of well-being, although men are
not assessed on this criterion.
 More research for women on vocational retraining, rehabilitation and re-insertion into
work needed.
 Rehabilitation and back-to-work policies to address women´s distribution of MSDs and
the higher prevalence of mental health disorders.
 Women's work-related health problems leading to longer workplace absences and
critical for reintegration.

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OSH implications of employment trends
Employment trend
 Women more and more
concentrated in part-time
and casual jobs, particularly
in the retail trade and
consumer services sector;
impacts on their salaries and
their career perspectives
 Informal work and jobs in
home care and as cleaners
on the increase, especially for
migrant women
 Move towards mini-jobs, not
covered by labour law
 Women continue to trail men
in terms of career
advancement and in levels of
compensation and gaining
higher status
OSH implications
 Stress & related health problems,
fatigue and cognitive health
problems
 Repetitive strain injuries caused
by repetitive and monotonous work
 Low job control and autonomy,
feelings of low self-esteem, low
motivation, and job dissatisfaction
for women
 OSH difficult to organise for
women who work at their clients
premises, how to enforce, how to
assess risks, how to ensure labour
protection
 Less access to (OSH) training,
consultation, less representation in
decision-making that may influence
their working conditions
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 Female employment, by sector
Human health & social work

Wholesale & retail trade

20,000
60% of all employed
18,000
Education women in 6 out of 62
Manufacturing sectors:
16,000 Public administration  health care & social
services,
Accommodation & food service
14,000  retail,
Prof., scientific & technical activities
 education,
12,000 Agriculture, forestry and fishing
 public administration,
10,000
Administrative & support service  business activities
Other service activities  hotels and restaurants
8,000
Financial and insurance activities

6,000 Transportation and storage

Activities of households as
4,000 employers
Information and communication

2,000 Arts, entertainment and recreation

Construction
0
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Real estate activities

Electricity, gas, steam & air condit.

Water supply; sewerage, waste

managemt

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 Women and informal work – typical sectors
Sector Vulnerable groups
Occupations
Agriculture Family workers
Undeclared workers
Young people and children
Health and safety risks Specific issues
Temperature and climatic conditions Seasonal work
Pesticides Irregular working time
Accident risks, incl. from vehicles and
machinery
Strenuous work

Retail Street retail trade and Temperature, climatic conditions “Envelope” wages
markets Ergonomic risks
Gift shops
Street vendors
Manufacturing Pieced home work Accident risks Irregular piece work
Garment and shoemaking Poor equipment Casual work
Tailoring Chemical and biological risks
Hotels and Kitchen workers MSDs Seasonal work
restaurants Cleaners Noise Night work
Unskilled workers Chemical and biological risks Irregular working times
Catering Burns and cuts “Envelope” wages
Personal Hairdressing Biological and chemical Casual work
services Cleaning Poorly equipped False self-employment
Tailoring Low wages
Accounting, data processing
Home and Cleaning Biological and chemical Irregular working time
elderly care Child care MSDs, heavy lifting Working at clients´ premises
Elderly care Lack of ergonomic equipment and Lone work
protective hygiene measures Lack of facilities
Mental load

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Characteristics of informal work for women

Vulnerable Health & safety Specific issues Wider issues

groups risks
Occupations
Family workers Repetitive & monotonous work
Undeclared workers Physically strenuous work
Young people Gendered violence
Migrant workers Lack of access to facilities
Mental load
Accidents & diseases not
recorded and compensated
Lone work
Lack of access to healthcare/
preventive OSH services
Lacking access to preventive
services
Lack of training
No access to consultation
No representation
Lack of basic rights (holidays,
insurance, unemployment
benefits)
Hard & busy schedules
Inadequate rest
Working conditions depend on
the relationship with the
employer
Lack of pension rights
No work contracts or
temporary contracts
Higher poverty risks
Lack of conciliation with
family obligations
Poor career prospects
No social or economic
recognition
Overqualification
Low wages
“Envelope” wages
No access to formal jobs
Social exclusion

Ongoing research on undeclared work and exploitation by FRA, just

presented at EU-OSHA

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OSH implications of living conditions
Living conditions
 Women spend more time in unpaid
activities: childcare and care for
dependent relatives, housework
 Women often juggle multiple roles
– be mothers, partners and carers as
well as doing paid work and running a
household
 Disparity in pay between women
and men still exists. Women
overrepresented in low income, low
status jobs (often part-time), and
more likely to live in poverty
 Poverty, working mainly in the home
on housework and concerns about
personal safety can make women
particularly isolated
OSH implications
 Intensive caring can affect
emotional health, physical health,
social activities and finances
 Stress – particularly when jobs
involve shift work, irregular working
times, Saturday/Sunday and
evening work
 Fatigue and cognitive problems
 Accidents related to fatigue and
bad working conditions
 Musculoskeletal disorders
 Multiple risk factors, not always
easy to discriminate work-related
risks
 Accepting precarious and worse
conditions at work
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Care for children or family still main reason for non - or
part-time employment
Main reason for not seeking employment,
by gender, LFS, 2013
Looking after children or
incapacitated adults 15,2
Other family or personal
In Europe, employment gap responsabilities 9,8
between mothers with very young Own illness or disability 12,5
children (< 3 yrs)) with children in
school age (6 -11 yrs) is on average In education or training 28,8
26 points for those aged 15 - 24, Retired 15,6
and 10 points for those aged 25 - 54
0 20 40 60
Men Women

Main reason for working part-time, women, LFS, 2013

60
50 15 years and over
40 Between 15 and 24 years
30 Between 25 and 49 years
20
Between 50 and 64 years
10
0 65 years and over
Looking after Other family or Own illness or In education or Could not find a full- Other reasons
children or personal disability training time job
incapacitated adults responsabilities

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 Caring for relatives, not only childcare

 UK :
• 11% rise in the number of carers since 2001 - increasing by over 620,000 to
6.5 million in just 10 years, about one-third are men.
• caring round the clock, for 50 h or more each week, are rising faster - an
increase of 25% in the last ten years
• Consequences: loss in income, physical and mental load, loss of employment
 A UK survey among SMEs showed that 25% had either dealt with a worker
affected by cancer or with a worker with care duties due to a cancer case
 By 2050, Nr. of people over 85 will increase more than fivefold and Europe,
having the oldest population will see a rapid increase in the demand for care.
 BE: 164,789 jobs were created between 2004 and 2011 in the domestic services
sector; in France, 300,000 jobs have been created in the same sector since 2005
 Good practices:
• In Canada, there is a statutory right to compassionate care leave. Employees
can take up to eight weeks unpaid leave to care for a gravely ill family member.
• The Carer's Leave Act 2001 in the Republic of Ireland enables employees to
leave their employment to provide temporary full-time care and attention to a
family member, a partner, friend or colleague.

 Sources: Carers UK, 2014 report, facts and figures; IES, SME survey; NICA, final report

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OSH implications of segregation into sectors
Employment trend
 Women still work mainly in
services, while men work mainly in
construction, utilities, transport and
manufacturing
 Increases in activity highest for
women aged 55-64
 Older women work more in
education, health and social work
and public administration
 Employment in manufacturing
decreasing
 Female workforce is ageing in
some sectors – manufacturing,
agriculture
 Women highly represented in
informal work, home and
domestic services
OSH implications
 Different risks for men and women –
prolonged sitting and standing,
static work significant for women
 More client contact – more
harassment and violence
 Different risks for different age
groups – prevention should be
tailored
 Occupational accident rates
stagnating in some sectors, not
recorded for education, health care
and sectors with high rates of
informal work, e.g. agriculture
 Older women exposed to heavy
work
 Less access to training for older
women, less access to consultation,
representation and preventive
services in the informal sector
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Gender segregation by age
OSH implications need to be further investigated

Women aged 15 - 24, in 1000s, main employment sectors, 2008 and 2013

older women 5,000 2008

2013
more in health 4,000

social work and 3,000

education, 2,000

younger women 1,000

more in retail 0
and HORECA Agriculture Manufacturing Retail Hotels and
restaurants
Public
administration
Education Health & social
work

Employment in Women aged 50 - 64, in 1000s, main employment sectors, 2008 and 2013

agriculture is
decreasing
5,000
2008
4,000 2013
Female 3,000

workforce in 2,000
manufacturing, 1,000
education and
health & social
0
Agriculture Manufacturing Retail Hotels and Public Education Health & social
restaurants administration work
work is ageing
Source: Eurostat LFS
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Are female jobs light jobs?

Secondary analysis of the German workers survey found that

Health care workers carry more than construction workers
 2 in 3 have to carry heavy loads
(compared to 1 in 2 for construction workers)
 93,8% have to do their work standing
 36% have to work in unfavourable postures (kneeling,
bending, squatting, etc.)
 71% have to do more than one task at a time
 More than ¾ (76%) work shifts
 More than half work nights (51%)
 Almost all work Saturdays, Sundays and holidays (94%, 91,5%)

 57% men and 64 % women have back pain

 66 % women and 54% men have pain in neck and shoulders
 37% of the women have pain in the legs
 > 40% suffer from high emotional load (compared to 11 % on average)
 More than 1 in 4 feel that they hardly cope (27 vs 16.6 %)
 Twice as many as on average have sleeping problems (37% vs. 19%)

(Germany,BAuA survey, published Nov.2007)

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Shift work reduction – a measure to reduce cancer burden?
EU-OSHA Cancer seminar Sep. 2012
UK burden of disease data (Rushton, L.)

Shift (Night) Work: Forecasted Attributable Cancers

Shift work: breast cancer, women
4,500

Attributable registrations
4,000

3,500

3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0
2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Forecast year

(1) Current employment levels maintained, 30% <5, 40% 5-

14, 30% 15+ years night shift work
(2) Linear employment trends to 2021-30
(3) 50%<5, 30% 5-14, 20% 15+ years night shift work
(4) 70%<5, 20% 5-14, 10% 15+
(5) 90%<5, 10% 5-14, 0% 15+
http://osha.europa.eu
(6) 100% <5 years 28
EU example – integrating gender into age management
Austrian labour inspection campaign on age management at work

Ageing - female health care workers

Finding that training and chances of promotion end at the age of 45;
high work rates, work organisation or working hours and the structure of the work environment
continues to be tailored to younger people.

Projection of the age structure – health and social service - blue-collar workers

25
• 300 enterprises (15/ regional
labour inspectorate) selected for
20
19.7 19.7 interventions
18 18
•Advice to employers
15
15.1 15.1 • employers to assess the age
2007
structure of their workforce
• attempt a projection of
11.8 11.8
2016
10 10
10 9 9 expected changes
6.8 6.3 6.3 6.8 • have a plan for addressing
5 existing and future health
2.2
1.2
2.2
1.2
problems
0
• folders, tools and brochures
15-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 46-50 51-55 55-60 61-65 developed jointly, practical to
SMEs
Source: Austrian labour inspection service ZAI

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Occupational accidents – gender differences

 Causes and circumstances different due to employment in

different sectors and occupations
• Slips, trips and falls
• Accidents due to violence
 Indications that some types of accidents more frequent in
women working rotating shifts, e.g. health care – influence of
living conditions?
 Accidents in some female-dominated sectors on the rise in
some countries (HORECA – young workers!)
 Some female-dominated sectors (education, health care, public
service) not or insufficiently addressed
 Informal work and mini-jobs – accidents not assessed/recorded

http://osha.europa.eu
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Women at work - Accident rates generally decreasing, but trends very
different for women and men, depending on sector
 Health care and education previously not included in top accident sectors!
 Informal work – not considered in accident statistics
 Many more women work part-time – adjust for working time
 Commuting accidents important for women
 While accident rates are decreasing for men with age, they are not for women!
12000

10000 Men
8000

6000

4000

2000

0
M anufacturing NACE Electricity, gas and Construction NACE Wholesale and retail, Hotels and Transport, storage Financial
D water supply NACE F repair, NACE G restaurants NACE H and communication intermediation; real
E NACE I estate, renting and
Women business activities
NACE J_K

F 1995 M 1995 F 1996 M 1996 F 1997 M 1997 F 1998 M 1998 F 1999 M 1999 F 2000 M 2000

F 2001 M 2001 F 2002 M 2002 F 2003 M 2003 F 2004 M 2004 F 2005 M 2005 F 2006 M 2006

Standardised incidence rate of accidents at work by economic activity, severity and sex
(per 100 000 workers), EU-15, 1995-2006, ESAW, Eurostat http://osha.europa.eu
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 Women at work - Accident rates generally decreasing, but
trends very different for women and men, depending on sector
 New NACE coding for industrial sectors reflects better sectors where
accident rates high for female workers
 Accident rates for women relevant in service sectors (transport,
HORECA, waste management, health and social work) and
administrative jobs, and in manufacturing and agriculture
Incidence rate of non-fatal accidents, by gender, ESAW, 2008-2011
5,000
4,500
4,000
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
Transport Accommod. & Admin. & Health & Water supply, Manufacturing Wholesale & Agriculture, Arts, Public Real estate Other service Construction Education
& storage food services support social work sewerage, retail trade forestry & entertainment admin. activities
service waste man. fishing & recreation

Males 2008 Females 2008 Males 2009 Females 2009

Males 2010 Females 2010 Males 2011 Females 2011

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 Transport accidents – by gender
A much higher injury risk for women

69.796 • Commercial traffic is riskier

70 than general traffic
• Commuting more dangerous
60 than business routes
• Modal choice strongly
injured / 1 milliom hours

50 44.394
relevant-for example highest
40
35.955 risk for motorcycles,
men
pedestrians, cyclists, and
30
women emergency services
16.902 • Women are at higher risk of
20
12.521 injury
10
5.749 • Risk decreases with age
• Depends on times of day,
0
work trips commuting transport
seasons relevant
accidents total

type of journey
Source „Initiative Sicherer Arbeitsweg - Weinheim 2011 - Dr. Geiler“

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Women’s exposure to dangerous substances
remains largely unexplored

Substance Source Circumstances Occupation, task

Pesticides & storage Foodstuff • Agriculture and • Farmers &

chemicals Storage farming agricultural workers
Plants • Horticulture • Gardeners
Animals • Workers who handle • Retail
goods from • Cleaners
containers and in
storage areas
Exhaust fumes Exhaust from • Unintentional contact • Maintenance
combustion engine, when loading and workers
Diesel exhaust and incl. diesel and other unloading • Retail workers
particles engines on trucks, • Maintenance • Drivers, delivery
ships, trains and • Refuelling and cargo workers
buses • Parking areas of • Workers on mission
vehicles • Transport workers
• Emergency workers

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 Women’s exposure to dangerous substances
remains largely unexplored
Substance Source Circumstances Occupation, task

Manufacturing
Cleaning products Leather industry
Cleaning
Fuels Textile industry
Dry-cleaning of textiles
Ambient air Cleaners and dry-cleaners
Printing
Paints, inks, glues and Hairdressers
Solvents Laboratory work
varnishes Service workers on ships, trains,
Handling medication
Cosmetics buses
Fabrication of dental and
Resins and glues Printing
optometric devices
Drugs Laboratory work, pharmacists,
chemists
Farmers and agricultural workers
Cleaners
Cleaning
Animals Service and maintenance
Contact with foodstuffs
Foodstuffs, perishable workers
Contact with infected clients
goods Healthcare staff
Biological and and goods
Insects and other vectors Hairdressers
infectious agents Contact with animals
Contact with Catering staff
Cuts and stings
passengers, patients, Teachers and nursery school
Contact with infectious agents
clients workers
when travelling abroad
Retail workers
Home carehttp://osha.europa.eu
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EU-OSHA publications highlighting chemical and biological
risks to women
Combined exposures!
! Monitoring of cancer risk factors and work-related cancer: exposures to
women overlooked, part-time women excluded from some studies
 Noise in figures – OSH in figures report
– highlights exposures in food and textile manufacturing, education, health
care and other service professions
 Combined exposures to noise and ototoxic substances – literature
review
 Transport sector – OSH in figures report – highlights overlooked
exposures to women in general, in particular women in service tasks
(restauration, cleaning)
 Factsheets on respiratory and skin sensitisers, highlight exposures to
biological agents in service sectors, health care, etc.
 Reports on cleaners – highlight exposures to precarious workers and lack of
training and information
 Report on HORECA and efacts on Dangerous substances in HORECA –
highlights multiple exposures and lack of information
 Legionella and legionnaires’ disease: European policies and good
practices, Report and Factsheet 100
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Women at work – younger women
Employment trend
 Unemployment gap betw. young
men and women has clearly
diminished, in some countries
unemployment of young men has
even become slightly higher.
 Younger women work more in
retail and HORECA
 Younger women work more in low-
qualified jobs and on temporary
contracts
 Gender pay gap already at the start
of career
 Employment gap particularly high
for mothers aged 15 - 24 with very
young and with children in school
age
OSH implications
 Different risks and trends for
different age groups – prevention
should be tailored
 Lack of experience and training of
young women
 Younger women exposed to sexual
harassment
 High exposure to violence, due to
client contact
 Occupational accidents even
increasing in some countries in
female-dominated sectors, such as
HORECA
 Less access to consulation,
preventive services,
representation at enterprise level
 Young mothers a particularly
vulnerable group
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EU example - integrating gender in the work of labour inspection
Austrian labour inspection Gender Mainstreaming Policy
The labour inspection staff act..
..considering the different situation of women and men in a working enviroment and
.. regarding to the fact, that OSH measures should be gender-sensitive

 Improved compliance – benefits women and men

 Inspectors responsibility to set the right climate. How can they
influence: the workplace level – broader prevention level
 Integrated into national OSH strategy – gender budgeting
 Austrian Inspectorate gender mainstreaming project
• Mainstream gender into the working lives of inspectors-
helps to raise awareness
• Mainstream gender into daily work of inspectors
• Guidelines for inspectors – always speak to both men and
women – checklists, does my advice cover both women and
men? will my advice benefit men and women?
• Training for inspectors
• Gender focus in guides for cleaners, investigation on female
musicians, gender mainstreamed into actions for ageing
workers

Presentation available at
https://osha.europa.eu/en/seminars/seminar-on-women-at-work-raising-the-profile-of-women-and-occupational-safety-and-health-osh
http://osha.europa.eu
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https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/factsheets/87

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Gender mainstreaming
Developing risk assessment tools

 Mainstreaming, gender-sensitivity means:

ensuring both women and men are included
in all h&s activities and doing a ‘gender-
check’

 EU-OSHA factsheet 43 provides a basic

approach:
• Avoid assumptions of who is at risk
• Include women’s jobs and consult them
• Look at real work situations
• Match jobs, equipment to real people
• Include work-life balance
• Incorporate into a holistic approach

 Examples of practical tools and their

application needsharing

http://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/factsheets/43/view
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http://www.inail.it/Portale/appmanager/portale/desktop?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PAGE_PUBBLICAZIONI&nextPage=PU
BBLICAZIONI/Tutti_i_titoli/Pari_opportunita/Donne_al_lavoro/Donne_al_lavoro_-_Sommario/info-753369618.jsp

Look at the real jobs women do!

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 Thank you for your attention

http://osha.europa.eu/en/priority_groups/gender

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