Podcast: Why ill-fitting PPE is a safety hazard for women in industry

Feb. 8, 2024

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Anna Smith explores why the industry is changing from the tradition “shrink it and pink it” concept for safety gear.

Anna Smith

The importance of supplying your workforce with proper personal protective equipment (PPE) is undeniable. But what happens when this life-saving equipment does not take into account the physical differences between male and female workers? You leave an entire demographic of workers vulnerable to health and safety risks. Luckily, the industry is starting to acknowledge the problem and is taking steps to correct the issue. In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Anna Smith, the news editor for IndustryWeek, examines the safety and workforce ramifications of ill-fitting safety gear for women.

Below is an excerpt from the podcast:

Ana Kraft was frustrated: frustrated that although she kept several pairs of safety boots under her desk, none of them fit; frustrated that she was constantly having to change her shoes at work -- problems which her male colleagues didn’t face.

After finishing her degree, Kraft had found the “perfect job” working on massive manufacturing projects for a consulting company. Part of her job was to lead multimillion-dollar project planning sessions.

“I was typically the only woman in the room with 10 to 20 engineers, and I was required to dress professionally for those meetings,” she says. “Every time the meeting wrapped up, one of the guys would say, ‘Let’s go out on the shop floor to check on the project we just discussed,’ and I had to hold up the whole room and say, ‘Wait, guys! I have to run back to my desk and put on my safety boots.’”

Once her safety boots were on, Kraft didn’t feel protected or comfortable.

“Every time I walked across the manufacturing floor, my safety boots felt more like a safety hazard than actually protecting me because they were so clunky. I never could get the right fit.”

Like this episode? Listen to "Keeping your workers safe in 2024"

About the Podcast
Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast offers news and information for the people who make, store and move things and those who manage and maintain the facilities where that work gets done. Manufacturers from chemical producers to automakers to machine shops can listen for critical insights into the technologies, economic conditions and best practices that can influence how to best run facilities to reach operational excellence.

Listen to another episode and subscribe on your favorite podcast app

About the Author

Anna Smith

Anna Smith joined IndustryWeek in 2021. She handles IW’s daily newsletters and breaking news of interest to the manufacturing industry. Anna was previously an editorial assistant at New Equipment Digest, Material Handling & Logistics and other publications.