Gender issues and prevention_SDG 8

At Fraternidad-Muprespa we are aware that there is still a long way to go to achieve full "decent work", as described in Sustainable Development Goal number 8. This need to improve working conditions requires a continuous and sustained effort, as we read in the report issued by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) in 2003, which already warned of the undervaluation in the evaluation of the risks that affect the women.

The adoption of a neutral approach in prevention strategies, policies and legislation has led us to reduce attention to the risks for the most feminized sectors and for all jobs performed by women. According to data provided by the same report and by the working conditions survey among other publications, women carry out the majority of unpaid or part-time work, the risks of which are not covered by legislation or risk assessments. As an example, in most cases the care of the elderly, sick relatives and children is carried out by women, adding this stress to that of work.

It is not necessary to legislate again; If we include a gender perspective in current directives, knowledge deficits will be reduced. This does not mean that it is necessary to implement methods that help us carry out adequate risk assessments, in which this gender perspective is included and that also take into account the biological differences between men and women, for example, in exposure to chemical and physical contaminants or in the search for personal protective equipment that adapts to each person. 

But...What can we do to remedy it?

In the report some measures are proposed such as:

• Review security policies, including in the objectives and procedures the commitment to include the gender perspective.
• Guarantee access to information and training for men and women, regarding prevention for the tasks they perform and their effects on health. Include part-time, ett, temporary employees and include all jobs, such as cleaning services.
• Women are not sufficiently represented in decision-making regarding ORP issues, they must be directly involved. Take into account their opinions, experiences, knowledge and abilities, studying ways for them to participate in health and safety committees.
• Do not standardize jobs since we know that two different people in the same job will do it differently. Truly adapt the job to the worker, taking into account anthropometric gender differences. Design the epis for men and women (anthropometrically, women are not small men).
• Guarantee access to health surveillance. Make internal and external occupational health services adopt a gender approach in their protocols, and must also include reproductive risks.
• Apply a gender approach to research and interventions, in addition to risk assessment. Separate data on accidents and occupational diseases by sex in order to discover specific problems and implement their corresponding solutions.

In the American Journal of Industrial Medicine we read:

...Gender perspective is not about comparing data on accidents and occupational diseases of men and women.It is a real review of workplaces, which requires us to impose changes in our usual procedures to improve the quality of information related to workers.

At Fraternidad-Muprespa we are aware of the need for gender inclusion to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 8: decent work for all. We still have a lot to do to achieve real inclusion of the risks that affect us.We have already started with the Gender Integration project in the prevention of occupational risks INGEPRE, which has as its fundamental objective to lay the foundations for an effective integration of the gender perspective in the preventive field tailored to for the company Asturian.

How to do it? Carrying out preventive measures that add in the safety and health levels of the workers; Among them, we highlight those focused on the organization of work, as they are transversal measures and applicable regardless of the sector in which one works, among others:

• An adequate day, in terms of its duration, and with some ergonomically studied breaks.
• Encourage participation and peer communication.
• Provide all necessary, appropriate and timely individualized information to facilitate changes and adaptations of positions work.
• Promote organizational clarity and transparency by defining jobs and assigned tasks from the perspective of the person occupying them or plays.
• Explain the importance of the functions that the worker performs on a daily basis, their impact, the value she brings to the company, and the added characteristics that she provides to them confers.
• Control the workload and pace of work so that it is coupled, as far as possible, with the personal and professional development of the worker in her different stages of the career. life.
• Allow professional growth by allowing the acquisition of sufficient skills, being aware that the job provides opportunities to apply your skills and knowledge and also to develop and learn new ones skills.
• Ensure that tasks are compatible with personal capabilities and resources and provide the necessary training to perform them competently by the workers.
• Ensure compliance with the employer's obligations in the case of maternity, during breastfeeding periods, or in periods of Care for Minors with Serious Illnesses, without this implying employment discrimination submerged.

We do not need to reinvent the wheel, simply use the tools we already have, taking into account the diversity of work groups, let's stop standardizing work and risks...Shall we start?.