Women experience more work-related health problems than men. Gender segregation at work means different health and safety issues for women and men, but at present women’s occupational health and safety issues receive less attention and most research has been on men. Occupational health and safety issues for both women and men need to be kept to the fore in workplaces and in national policy making. Employed women and men have better health than unemployed or unpaid workers, but job insecurity, overwork and unhealthy workplaces often cancel out the benefits of a paid job. Women occupy fewer good jobs than men and have a larger share of bad jobs. A lifetime of typical women’s work leads to poorer health amongst older women. This book discusses and provides case studies of hidden hazards in women’s work, drawing comparisons across English-speaking countries and other Western industrial environments. It points to practical ways in which health and safety in workplaces can be made more gender-sensitive, to benefit both women and men. It concludes by recommending that gender mainstreaming be put on government policy agendas to improve occupational health and safety and public health.
