Women’s PPE: Work in progress

Women are still a minority in the trades, but their numbers are increasing.

As of 2023, they made up 30% of the workforce in manufacturing and nearly 12% in construction, data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows. And as their participation in these traditionally male professions has grown over the years, efforts have ramped up to increase women’s access to personal protective equipment that fits them properly.

Articles have been written. Workshops have been conducted. Campaigns have been launched. So, why is it still difficult for women to get PPE that fits? What can safety professionals do to help close the gaps?

When PPE is a hazard

The irony of ill-fitting PPE is that instead of protecting the worker, it’s a danger in itself.

Experts offer examples such as safety glasses slipping down, safety vests restricting movement, and baggy clothing catching on assembly lines or rotating equipment. In one case, because of her oversized PPE, a woman had to be picked up and carried to safety when a fire broke out.

These stories aren’t just anecdotes. An informal survey of 175 tradeswomen conducted in 2022 by CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training found that 88% had experienced difficulty getting PPE that fit, and 77% reported being exposed to a hazard as a result.

The problem of ill-fitting PPE goes beyond safety, too, affecting workers’ comfort and productivity.

“Fit equates to personal confidence in your equipment, which then allows for your best day-to-day performance, which in turn helps to create a culture of safety for the individual and, hence, the group,” said Dave Rosenbluth, national sales manager for Utility Pro Wear and a cofounder and board member of the Alliance of Women’s Safety Apparel Manufacturers. “You’re not pulling and tugging at anything. You’re not constantly moving to accommodate something that’s getting in your way. You just do your job.”

When women can’t get proper-fitting PPE through their employer, they often cope in ways that pose their own problems.

“Ladies say they’ve been told, ‘Just cuff your pants,’” said Kelly Franko, president of Seraphina Safety Apparel and also a cofounder and board member of AWSAM. “But they weld. So now the cuffs are collecting the weld and catching the bottom of their pants on fire.”

Some female workers alter their PPE against manufacturers’ recommendations, noted Jessica Richardson, who chairs the Safety and Health Awareness Committee of the National Association of Women in Construction.

“People hem their own clothing, cut it up, whatever they need to make it fit,” she said, adding that hemming flame-resistant clothing, for example, can compromise its protective properties.

Alternatively, women commonly purchase their own PPE, especially if they find products in which they’re comfortable. Unfortunately, these purchases may not meet safety requirements for the job, and some workers end up paying out of pocket because an employer won’t reimburse them for these purchases or the worker chooses to avoid the hassle of submitting the expense.

Clear signs of improvement

The good news is access to proper-fitting PPE is growing – albeit slowly, industry experts say.

“I have toured hundreds of manufacturing facilities throughout the course of my career,” said Allison Roberts Grealis, founder and president of the Women in Manufacturing Association, “and I have seen firsthand in my early tours how protection and safety apparel was often ill-fitted for women. I believe there has been a huge improvement in the last decade in PPE for women, and it’s exciting to see more vendors offering PPE designed for women.”

Some of those vendors are small, niche manufacturers. Last year, a group of these companies, including Rosenbluth’s and Franko’s, joined forces to establish AWSAM with the purpose of supporting awareness, access and advocacy for the safety of women at work.

AWSAM’s founders report seeing an uptick in interest.

“We’ve definitely seen an increase in people reaching out to us to say, ‘What can we do to get your products for women in our workforce?’” Franko said. “And with OSHA passing the standard on fit, I think we’re going to see even more, because companies are trying to do the right thing.”

Franko isn’t alone in expecting more widespread improvements with the publication of OSHA’s final rule requiring PPE to properly fit each worker in the construction industry. (The regulation went into effect in January.)

“I don’t know of anyone who thought that PPE wasn’t supposed to fit,” Richardson said. “That being said, having this clarity around it, I think, will help drive folks in the right direction, especially the manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and employers.”

Challenges remain

Remaking men’s PPE for women has never been a straightforward task.

“Historically, the ‘pink it and shrink it’ mentality, where products are simply downsized and marketed to women, has been prevalent, but it fails to address the real, functional requirements of female workers,” said Nicole Randall, senior director of communications and marketing at the International Safety Equipment Association. “More than just smaller sizes, women’s PPE must account for distinct anatomical differences such as body shape and proportions, ensuring a better fit and greater protection.”

In comparison with men, women’s bodies have more variations in size and shape that must be accounted for in PPE fit. They might be petite or tall; straight or curvy; and wide in the hip and narrow in the torso, or vice versa. And that doesn’t include temporary variations associated with pregnancy.

“Men’s shapes are such that they fit into less numerous categories,” Rosenbluth said.

Beyond body proportions, differences also exist in women’s face and hand shapes. None of this is a mystery. In fact, Richardson noted that it’s all laid out in a 2023 technical report from the American Society of Safety Professionals (Z590.6). “There’s anthropometric data about women’s bodies and sizing that explains why shrinking male PPE doesn’t work,” Richardson said, adding that greater awareness of this information is needed.

Unisex clothing can be boxy and ill-fitting, the experts say, or – worse – may essentially be relabeled menswear. And just because a product says it’s made for women doesn’t mean it’s been designed using data on the body measurements of women. This complicates the process for employers because, until a worker tries on a product, it can be difficult to know the difference.

“Companies are trying to get PPE in to take care of women in their workforce,” Franko said. “But it’s months and months of trial and error.”

The need for smaller quantities of PPE in a wider variety of sizes also drives up costs. Per item, it’s more expensive to manufacture smaller runs of products, and those costs can climb even higher if a company manufactures in the United States. Prices for women’s PPE can reflect that reality, although Franko notes that AWSAM members have observed those differences leveling out in recent years.

Giving progress a push

After her own experiences with the risks and discomfort of ill-fitting PPE, Jo Mayer, safety and health coordinator at Nucor Steel Gallatin, has made it her mission to make sure workers at her facility have the right safety equipment – whatever their size or shape. She says she’s more than willing to put in the time to research what her team needs and then track it down. She and the other experts shared several ways safety pros can help, even if they’re not directly involved in PPE procurement.

Communicate with workers: Mayer encourages workers to be open about any PPE that isn’t working for them. “Whenever you have a company that’s willing to hear teammates out and work with them to improve the PPE, it’s going to be good for everyone,” she said.

Advocate with management. Rosenbluth notes that safety pros are uniquely positioned to make the case that well-fitting PPE is worth the extra effort by showing a return on investment (reductions in insurance claims, workers’ compensation costs, and lost worktime). Just drawing management’s attention to the problem can help. “Leaders and supervisors can’t fix a problem that they don’t know exists,” Grealis said. “Safety professionals can better advocate for access to properly fitting PPE by vocalizing this need to their organizational and facility leadership.”

Work directly with manufacturers. If it’s difficult to access the product you need through a distributor, speak up. Mayer said she communicates directly with the manufacturer, even if she’s working through a distributor. “Having those conversations with the manufacturers has helped so much in determining what’s available,” Mayer said. “And they may need feedback on how things fit, on availability. It helps them improve their offerings.”

If you can’t find it, create it. When Mayer can’t find what workers need, she will work directly with manufacturers to design better-fitting PPE. “If you do that, you’re setting up that manufacturer for success down the road because you’re not the only person looking for that PPE,” she said.

Share what you learn. Because tracking down the proper PPE can be a challenge, Mayer recommends spreading the word: “Once you find something that works for your team, make sure you share that as widely with folks in your industry as possible, because you’re not the only one facing these difficulties.”