June 2021 Monthly Blog – Women's health after the pandemic
A friend who used to work for a womens’ sanitary products company told me how until the late 1990’s, the senior management team was exclusively male. Her employers even sponsored a corporate entertainment box at the local football club because…err…the exclusively female customers were such football enthusiasts…?
The Office for National Statistics notes a 20% rise in women in full time employment over the last 50 years.
That three quarters are employed in teaching, health, clerical or sales and service jobs may fuel a misconception that women tend to work in low-risk occupations. In practice, risks differ between sexes.
Differences in education, socialisation/upbringing, perception of risk, and the propensity to take sick leave/seek treatment may lead to differences in the way women manage illnesses compared with men.
Psychological stresses and many physical occupational risks
Psychological stresses and many physical occupational risks such as cancer, musculoskeletal disorders and heart disease rank higher among women workers. Women have more body fat than men - for example, in the 20-39 age bracket, men have a typical body fat range of 8-20% compared with women in the same age range of 22-33%.
The relevance here is that occupational exposure limits for chemicals may not reflect that fat soluble substances are likely to be found in higher concentrations in women than men, retained for longer, with the risk of more health effects. Fat soluble toxins include heavy metals such as lead, mercury, a number of pesticides and plastics.
Don’t women drive in Europe?
Women also tend on average to have smaller physiques than men, so personal protective equipment (PPE), and body armour in security services, may not fit so well. Worse still, shapes are different. Crash test dummies used to be typically “male”, with heavier upper bodies and slimmer hips than a female dummy. Following protests, EURO-NCAP starting using “women” dummies with lighter upper body weight distribution and wider hips to test seatbelt safety – but only in passenger seats initially. Why? Don’t women drive in Europe?
“Second shift”
Women are sometimes said to work a second, “unpaid shift”, caring for children, elderly parents, the home/garden, etc. where heavy lifting can exacerbate musculoskeletal disorders already experienced in the workplace. This “second shift” leaves employed women workers with less time to unwind – so stress levels rise.
In a generally ageing workforce, menopausal women are now the fastest-growing demographic in the workplace - though some struggle to manage the psychological and physiological changes their bodies are going through.
Many such women will be at the top of their game, and organisations that fail to properly support them may suffer the early retirement of a valuable mine of experience and skills. Women also bring different people-management skills and prefer to make friends in the workplace compared with the sometimes more confrontational style of male colleagues.
Essential health checks like smear tests and mammograms have been postponed during the pandemic, with many women having missed the opportunity to attend potentially life-saving appointments. It is estimated that almost a million women were unable to attend a breast screening due to the COVID-19 pandemic and around 600,000 smear tests were missed between April and May 2020.
Caring for the carers
Your women workers are just as valuable as the males – they bring diverse skills and insights to the workplace.
They need nurturing – and in a slightly different way from males:
- Ensure that managers and leaders are well-educated on the signs and symptoms associated with women’s health that may affect their working life, such as reproductive cycles, periods, menopause.
- Encourage conversations around womens’ health at work, whether in the office or working remotely.
- Examine your flexible working policies to help women achieve that work-life balance.
- Address the culture of always being “on call” to answer phone calls, emails etc. at any time of day.
- Cut staff some slack if they need to take time off to catch up on missed medical appointments. They will show their appreciation by working that much harder afterwards.
- Check that risk assessments truly reflect the needs of female workers.
- Address psycho-social issues in the workplace and adopt a “zero tolerance” approach to harassment – even pin-up calendars.
- Check that anything provided at work is suitable or can be adjusted for women – ask them; they’ll tell you! If you don’t feel comfortable about discussing women’s issues, appoint a friendly female liaison.
- Target health promotion events specifically at women to help them look after their health needs.
- Recognise the different approach taken by women to workplace relationships
Contact us
Arinite clients appreciate we provide practical, no-nonsense advice about what you need to do to establish and maintain a safe and healthy working environment. Our team of health and safety consultants take pride in keeping health and safety simple.
If you need to call upon our expert assistance, or just for an informal chat, please call our office 0207 947 9581, or type an enquiry to: https://www.arinite.com/contact-us/.
Written by