1. Specific risks: gender-based approach
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Aitana Garí Pérez

2. Specific risks: gender-based approach
Which subjects are we addressing today?
Why a gender approach?
Some specific risk with gender based approach:
Ergonomics risk: musculoskeletal injuries.
Psychosocial Risks
Chemical Risks
Motherhood as discrimination
Some hints around the union strategy
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3. Gender inequalities in occupational health…
Why a gender approach?
Gender inequalities in occupational health…
Women's occupational health problems are often invisible. And they are invisible because- in general- employers, unions, investigators, researcher and policy makers do not do anything to prevent the occupational risks that women are exposed to.
This contributes to an increase the inequalities due to gender in occupational health.
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¿Cómo actuar frente al riesgo tóxico?

4. Men have work accidents! Women get worn out!
Why a gender approach?
Men have work accidents!
Women get worn out!
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6. Why a gender approach? What is women's work?
All women work: in their homes and more and more outside their homes.
Much of women's work is invisible, never-ending and often without pay.
The female work force is increasing.
Women work mainly
in the service
but also in agriculture...
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7. Sex  biological differences Need equal rights: equal opportunities
Basic concepts
Gender  social role
Sex  biological differences
Need equal rights: equal opportunities
Social justice is to treat different what is different
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8. Specific risks: gender-based approach
Main health and safety problems of women:
Musculoskeletal disorders
Two specific psychosocial Problems: from “dual burden” to “sexual harassment”.
Chemical risk
Motherhood as discrimination
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9. Musculoskeletal disorders
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10. Musculoskeletal disorders
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11. Musculoskeletal disorders
This pain suffered by many working women is not recognized as a work related disease.
The differences between women and men are explained as follows:
Working conditions for women involve more musculoskeletal risk factors due to:
the area type
interaction between worker and work station
work duration
Women have less muscular power than men: same conditions have more effect on them.
Family responsibilities plus working conditions increase the risk
Hormonal factors increase the risk.
Interaction between psychosocial risk factors and ergonomic risks increases musculoskeletal problems.
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12. Psychosocial problems
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13. Psychosocial problems: from dual burden to sexual harassment
60% of women mention stress as their main occupational health problem.
It is related to working:
with great demands and requirements, but little control over their work,
with ambiguous and difficult roles,
with an insecure and precarious contract,
with monotonous tasks and without the possibility of professional advancement.
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14. Psychosocial problems: from dual burden to sexual harassment
Another unacknowledged factor of women's typical psychosocial risks is what we call “dual burden”. Dual burden is the situation in which the same person has to answer to domestic or family work demands and to paid work demands.
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15. Psychosocial problems: from dual burden to sexual harassment
Dual burden has 2 important aspects:
the volume or work load that extends women's working days, women keep working: cleaning, cooking, etc. when they arrive home
the conflict that is generated when the demands of the two functions arise at the same time: women face difficulties if for example a child gets sick and has to go to the doctor during working hours...
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16. Psychosocial problems: from dual burden to sexual harassment
How does dual burden affect health?
Studies show that the health of the women that work outside and inside the home gets worse as the number of people in the home increases.
Dual burden is above all a psychosocial risk factor, but it is also an ergonomic and chemical risk factor...
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17. Psychosocial problems: from dual burden to sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is a social phenomenon that happens in the work place with numerous and different dimensions.
Sexual harassment is any verbal or physical behaviour of a sexual nature that acts against a person's dignity.
Several studies reveal that sexual harassment is not the result of a pathological behaviour. On the contrary, sexual harassment is a series of personal relationships where there is unequal power between people, which is unfavourable to women.
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18. Psychosocial problems: from dual burden to sexual harassment
How does sexual harassment affect health?
Sexual harassment affects, mainly women's psychological health, generating stress related reactions like for example: emotional trauma, anxiety, depression, anger, low self-esteem, etc.
But sexual harassment affects physical health as well, producing stress related diseases: sleep disorders, headaches, stomach problems and ulcers, etc.
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19. Chemical Risks
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20. Chemical risks Presence of chemical risk in the work place
In all work places we find chemical substances in commonly used products.
There are millions of chemical products and many of them are dangerous to our health or environment.
They can be simple substances (gasoline, chlorine, sulphuric acid, asbestos, etc). or in mixes of two or more substances (called preparations).
A chemical is dangerous because of:
its properties
the way that it is used: dust, spray, liquid...
the way that we find it in the work place
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23. Chemical risk at work and women…
Chemical risks
Chemical risk at work and women…
Chemical substances are present in all sectors and activities. Men as well as women are exposed to chemical substances in their work.
Many times feminized activities like cleaning, textile, health etc. have dramatic cases of women's exposure to toxic substances.
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24. Chemical risks There is a lack of studies on toxic effects in women.
But what is the difference between men and women in their exposure to chemical substances?
There is a lack of studies on toxic effects in women.
The Threshold limit value (TLV) is based on the reactions of these men: they are not universal values and do not protect every person.
It is known that there are chemical substances that cause specific diseases for women: certain organochlorine compounds are linked to breast and ovaries cancer and cadmium is linked to osteoporosis.
Biological differences:
Anatomics (women have less body mass)
physiological (fat content)
biochemical (hormonal processes)
Multiple exposure: for example cleaning products at work and in the home.
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25. Motherhood as discrimination
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26. Motherhood as discrimination
To prevent is not to discriminate: Contradiction between work and pregnancy
The prevention of a risk can not be turn into discrimination against women.
Pregnancy is one of the situations were we find more occupational discrimination.
E.g. it is a widespread preventive practice to exclude women from work with lead, because it is harmful for the foetus, produces malformations, and death in the newly born or premature baby, etc. But there is discrimination if the pregnant women are not relocated to another work post or task where there is no lead.
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27. Some hints around the union strategy
What can we do?
make visible the invisible
observe the differences in risk identification
give a value to the subjective perception of risks: to take into account the perception of the workers of the risks they are exposed to
look at the differences between men and women during tasks observation
search for solutions with the women workers
at training time:
an extra effort has to be made so that women are integrated in the training and
so that gender specific aspects get included
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28. Specific risks: gender-based approach
All jobs have to be safe and healthy
for all people
regardless of their gender!
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29. Specific risks: gender-based approach
And can go far with
our brothers support!
Thank you again!
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