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Building Towers, Razing Sexism by Roxanne Rivera
A bit of a pep talk from a tradeswoman-turned-company-owner.
US Department of Labor Women’s Bureau
Women in the workforce are vital to the nation’s economic security. The Women’s Bureau develops policies and standards and conducts inquiries to safeguard the interests of working women; to advocate for their equality and economic security for themselves and their families; and to promote quality work environments.
Gender blind: Protecting the Safety of Women in the Workplace
By Lauretta Claussen, associate editor of Safety and Health
Interesting article about discrimination in the construction trades, especially in provisions of PPE. Offers solutions and discusses women and organizations that are combatting discrimination in the construction trades.
Interview: Artist, Construction Worker Susan Eisenberg
Pride and Paycheck
Pride includes resources, announcements, safety tips, photos, stories, art and poetry by the tradeswomen themselves as well as advice from advocates who have been working hard to recruit women into these high paid, great benefits careers. Construction workers, railroad engineers and shop craft workers, skilled manufacturing jobs, truck drivers and many other trades formerly considered for “men only” are featured in Pride and a Paycheck. Photographs of females performing the functions of these lucrative careers give inspiration and confidence to those women who are “thinking” about entering the blue collar skilled and semi-skilled trades.
Safety Gear for Hardworking Women
Blog by Terri Piasecki, founder of Charm and Hammer. Has important information about PPE and PPC for women, including information on how to size gloves and other PPE/PPC and how to choose the proper PPE and PPC.
Sisters In The Building Trades – A Non-Profit Organization That Provides Women Working In The Construction Trades With Individual & Personal Support, As Well As Mentoring & Assistance In What Has Predominately Been A Male-Dominated Industry 2011 article from WNY Labor Today
Women in the Construction Workplace: Providing Equitable Safety and Health Protection (Department of Labor/OSHA full text article)
Abstract: As increasing numbers of women enter the construction trades, concerns about their health and safety are growing. In addition to the primary safety and health hazards faced by all construction workers, there are safety and health issues specific to female construction workers. The small percentage of females within the construction trades and the serious health and safety problems unique to female construction workers have a circular effect. Safety and health problems in construction create barriers to women entering and remaining in this field. In turn, the small numbers of women workers on construction worksites foster an environment in which these safety and health problems arise or continue.
Sources of information for this report include a survey of tradeswomen conducted by CWIT and two research studies by NIOSH. The key findings and recommendations are organized into seven categories: Workplace Culture; Sanitary Facilities; Personal Protective Equipment; Ergonomics; Reproductive Hazards; Health and Safety Training; and Injury and Illness Data and Research.
Similar concerns surfaced in all three studies. The prevalence of a hostile workplace, restricted access to sanitary toilets, protective clothing and equipment in the wrong sizes, and poor on-the-job training-these were significant issues that adversely impacted women’s ability to perform their jobs safely.
Many of the identified problems are amenable to change through engineering, behavioral, or administrative intervention. The recommendations in this report are directed at employers, labor unions, manufacturers, training programs, supervisors, and workers. Improving the work conditions for women in the construction trades will not only ensure their health and safety, it will also serve to attract and retain women as workers during a critical time of labor shortages in this industry.
Women in the Labor Force: A Data Book
This report presents historical and current labor force and earnings data for women and men from the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a national monthly survey of approximately 60,000 households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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