Recent news

The EU-OSHA Director, Dr. Christa Sedlatschek, will participate at a Joint Conference of the European Parliament and Eurofound on April 12 2012 to discuss the inclusive dimensions of a “good work” perspective for men and women, for young and older people.

A European Commission report shows that limited progress towards increasing the number of women on company boards has been achieved one year after EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding called for credible self-regulatory measures (see MEMO/11/124). Just one in seven board members at Europe's top firms is a woman (13.7%). This is a slight improvement from 11.8% in 2010. However, it would still take more than 40 years to reach a significant gender balance (at least 40% of both sexes) at this rate.

HSE's Commitment to the Equality Duty

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is committed to eliminating discrimination and promoting equality in our policies and in our dealings with our staff. We are committed to all aspects of equality with overarching objectives covering all equality strands.
 

The ETUI recently published a report highlighting the discriminatory impact on women of the system for the declaration and recognition of occupational diseases in Belgium. There is one striking statistic: women represent less than 10% of recognised cases of occupational diseases.

This guide provides practical information on managing the risk of injury from manual handling activities in the healthcare sector.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has published two booklets on gender issues and working conditions.
One booklet provides an overview of the differences and inequalities in work and health between women and men, and highlights issues of particular importance to women. Advice for action is provided at different levels: government, employers, workers and researchers.

At request of the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, the Dutch Expert Committee on Occupational Exposure Safety (DECOS), a Committee of the Health Council of The Netherlands, proposes health-based recommended occupational exposure limits (HBROEL) for chemical substances in the air at the workplace. These recommendations serve as a basis in setting legally binding occupational exposure limits by the minister.

The Health Council of the Netherlands has reviewed hexachlorophene, methotrexate, and N-fluoren-2-ylacetamide. These reports are part of a series, in which the Health Council evaluates the effects of substances on reproduction, at request of the Minister of Social affairs and Employment, as a result of the Dutch regulation on registration of compounds toxic to reproduction that came into force on 1 April 1995.

 Approximately 1.5 million U.S. workers were employed as drivers of heavy trucks and tractor-trailers in 2009. Truck drivers spend long hours behind the wheel, working an average of 41.5 hours per week. Therefore, a well-designed truck cab can make a significant difference in the working conditions for a truck driver. 

Inequality both inside and outside the workplace can have an effect on the health and safety of women at work. Progress has been made, but there are still gaps within the research, policy and prevention measures:

European OSH statistics still do not cover women satisfactorily. Occupational diseases still mainly reflect male jobs and accident recording omits sectors where women work, e.g. education and health care. In Europe, occupational segregation, gender discrimination, family responsibilities, women’s multiple roles and jobs, disparity in pay and poverty all impact on their safety and health at work.

The research highlights that major risks factors include the type of work carried out by women, issues faced by younger and older women, the growth of the service sector, violence and harassment, and increasingly diversified working time patterns as major risk factors.

New risks and trends in the safety and health of women at work

Women and Health at Work

Further publications on the topic

Seminar on women at work