By Tanya Olckers
Women’s needs are quite different from men’s – especially when it comes to workwear and PPE.
Workwear must accommodate women’s comfort and safety. All images supplied by SiSi Work Wear
It’s been an ongoing theme: where do women find workwear and PPE tailored specifically for them? While most companies seem to feel that a boiler suit is a boiler suit and a work shoe is a work shoe, the reality is that this is not the case. Women’s bodies are different, and these differences need to be accommodated in their workwear not just for their comfort, but for their safety as well.
We have seen a rise in women entering the plumbing field, and indeed, they are making their mark in a profession that has previously been viewed as male dominated. You may even have several women working on your team. Perhaps you are a woman who is running her own plumbing business. While a lot of attention is being given to having the right tools and equipment to get plumbing jobs done to a high standard, the need for appropriate clothing and footwear for women has taken a back seat.
Previously, Plumbing Africa looked at workwear and PPE in our February 2024 edition (What are you wearing?). In that article, Steve van Zyl, National Technical Manager of IOPSA pointed out that, “Plumbers normally work on various things, so different areas come with different risks. Safeguard yourself by wearing the correct PPE for the job.”a
At the time, we were hard pressed to find the right kind of workwear for women. Most female plumbers stated that they ‘made do’ with what was available for men, or adapted what they had to suit them.
SiSi Safety Wear provide solutions tailored specifically for women and are dedicated not just to provide education to companies regarding women’s needs but are committed to providing fit-for-purpose workwear, shoes and fall arrest equipment that ensure the safety of the women on your team.
Work boots specially designed for women helps prevent accidents.
Dr Anette Thompson, a specialist podiatrist and fellow of the Faculty of Podiatric Medicine, Royal Society of Physicians and Surgeons (Glasgow), has worked closely with SiSi to ensure that women get the right footwear for their work that is both fit for their feet and fit for function. She has been involved with the development and design of the footwear, being part of research and development.
The research included taking 3D laser scans of the feet of over 500 women in South Africa, across all cultures. This helped inform the design of the shoes. “A woman’s foot is physiologically different,” says Dr Thompson, “Wearing the wrong footwear can lead to falls, injuries and accidents.”
But, a shoe is a shoe, right?
Not really. Women’s feet swell during pregnancy and during menstruation, which is something that men’s feet don’t do. Wearing a shoe suited for men won’t accommodate these changes. Plus, women who have given birth may find that their shoe size has changed due to ligament changes in their bodies brought on by the birthing process. Women’s gait, posture and centre of gravity are also different, and this in turn affects the design of the shoe. These were all factors that went into the research to create a work shoe that is fit for women.
Okay, but a shirt is a shirt, and a boiler suit is a boiler suit. Right? Wrong.
Shape and fit are important.
Sleeves on a men’s boiler suit or shirt may be too long for women. The answer then is to roll up those sleeves – but then women lose out on the protection that that the suit is supposed to provide. If the sleeve rolls down, it could get caught in machinery, which could then lead to injury to the wearer.
We know that plumbing involves a lot of lifting, carrying, cleaning and cutting. It may not seem like it, but the wrong clothing and footwear could impede a woman’s productivity and ability to do her job.
If you consider that overalls, workwear, PPE and footwear are meant to provide some kind of protection to the worker, the magnitude of the issue becomes clear. Collars are designed for men’s necks. Shirts and boiler suits are designed to accommodate male anatomy and don’t account for changes in women’s bodies such as pregnancy. Shirts that are shorter in length are great for men. However, for women, having a short shirt that rides up when they are doing work that involves bending, exposes skin and not just makes them feel uncomfortable but could pose a danger should hazardous material drip onto that skin.
Women and men’s anatomy are different – work wear should conform to that.
By discounting women’s needs as far as workwear is concerned, we are undoing the progress that we are making through integration and diversity in plumbing. Transformation is a big theme for the industry this year, and that extends to something that seems as simple as providing women the right attire for their jobs as plumbers. As Desiree Hlubi, SiSi brand manager at BBF Group says, “These are conversations that we should have had in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Why are we still having to talk about this in 2024?”
Both Dr Thompson and Hlubi are determined to provide education on women’s work attire to bring about change not just in the plumbing industry, but in other sectors as well. If you employ women, this is your chance to help bring about greater change and improve the safety standards you provide for your female staff.
