Women getting short end of farm safety stick

Women have a huge and growing role in farming. They always have, and census statistics shows the country has more women operators than ever.

But despite their important role, they are underserved in a very important area: that is, farm safety, and specifically personal protective equipment (PPE).

PPE items, ranging from work clothes
to harnesses that prevent falls, are mostly designed for men, not women.

In fact, a new research study called Expanding Opportunities for Canadian Agriculture by Understanding the Experience of Farm Women, shows that almost 70 per cent of farm women struggle to find PPE that fits them.

And nearly 40 per cent say safety apparel for women is more expensive than men’s.

This is a not a trivial matter – it’s topical for several reasons.

First, Canadian Farm Safety Awareness Week just passed. This is an annual national initiative delivered by the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association that raises awareness about the importance of being safe performing agricultural work.

Farm Safety Awareness Week showcases how safety directly contributes to the success and sustainability of farming operations. It’s hard to succeed in one of the country’s most dangerous occupations without personal protective equipment that fits. No one, women, men or otherwise, should be expected to do that.

Second, despite the weather, planting season is around the corner. Farm safety is important year- round, but the spotlight falls on it more at certain times of the year – for example, when farming is about to become more active for producers who plant crops. And more and more, many of those producers are women.

Finally, manufacturers are missing a huge opportunity to serve the women’s market, especially if those manufacturers are Canadian. Given how the country has rallied behind the Made in Canada movement, imagine the draw of farm gear made especially for Canadian women. Any manufacturer who reads the study would get it.

Some people will dismiss women-sized PPE as a fad. Traditionally, says the farm safety association, agriculture has lived by the “pink it and shrink it” approach. That means manufacturers simply take men’s smaller sizes, colour them differently and call them women’s wear.

But that ignores some realities, says Jennifer Teague, Canadian Standards Association vice president for standards research and education.

“Many manufacturers are essentially shrinking PPE to fit women, but women have very different bodies compared to men,” she says. “We have breasts, our shoulders are generally narrower, and our hips are generally wider.”

Teague says to make do, many women make DIY adjustments to their PPE, such as using duct tape to shorten their gear.

That, though, can lead to other safety risks. Altering certain PPE can compromise the integrity of the equipment and void the safety certification.

It all leads up to the need for manufacturers to pay more attention to the matter.

“PPE is the last line of defence when it comes to workplace protection,” Teague says, “so it’s important that it fits well… because if that fails, there’s nothing else to protect you.”

Owen Roberts is an agricultural journalist from Guelph and a communications instructor at the University of Illinois. He regularly visits family in Creemore.