Abstract
Historically, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has been designed around the size and shape of an average European or US man. This poses physical safety and social challenges to those who do not fit within this normalised size and shape. To date, there has been little evidence to support anecdotal reports that women are at a greater disadvantage than men from ill-fitting PPE, or how these disadvantages (should they exist) might present. This thesis brings together a collection of inter-related studies aimed at filling this significant research gap, investigating the physical and sociological problems brought about by the lack of appropriate PPE for women.This body of work evidences the previously anecdotal problems associated with PPE, not only within male dominated fields, but also across the range of industries provisioned with PPE (Papers A and B). The richness of data corroborated in Papers C and D has never before been captured in one place and is highly impactful in the PPE industry and with Health & Safety Professionals.
Paper A employs an extensive quantitative survey to establish the differences experienced by female and male safety footwear end users. Statistically significant findings included that female wearers were disadvantaged by their safety footwear, being more likely to feel more uncomfortable (60%) than their male counterparts (45%).
Paper B reports on a mixed methods study concerning PPE worn by healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. A statistically significant link is made between women suffering more with poor fit than men with certain categories of PPE (gowns, masks, visors, goggles). Over four times as many women as men reported their surgical gowns being large to some degree and women were nearly twice as likely to experience oversized surgical masks than men. However, it was recognized that PPE fit problems are not exclusive to women as many men also do not conform to the underlying shape and size of current PPE designs. Survey results indicated that both sexes felt equally hampered due to the fit of their PPE and around a third of both women and men had modified their PPE to address fit issues. Women were also more likely to feel unsafe in their work during the pandemic due to their PPE with only 31% versus 53% of men indicating that they felt safe.
Paper C moves into a wholly qualitative domain, presenting the results from interviews with 30 women wearing PPE in a range of industrial environments, and is the largest study of its type to date. The findings of this thematic analysis-based study significantly expand upon previous literature concerning: the reduced range of PPE available for women when compared with male counterparts; considerable fit and comfort issues; physical, day-to-day and health-related consequences. This work therefore represents the first study to evidence the increased PPE-related burden on women, and, demonstrate fundamental links between women wearing ill-fitting or inappropriate PPE and their reduced sense of belonging, confidence and morale.
Paper D comprises a follow up to Paper C, disclosing the additional phenomena that were uncovered during the 30 interviews. Whilst not specific to the research question, these were wholly valid, and previously unreported findings, focusing on the additional issues that women continue to experience as a minority in male dominated industries. This includes commentary on sanitary provisions, visibility, and assimilation as women, along with men’s attitudes towards them in the workplace.
Paper E considers how the problem of inappropriate safety footwear might be addressed in the future – the “Next Generation”. This paper introduces a radical new vision for safety-smart footwear, produced on a mass customisation basis that is integrated functionally with the operational environment. It is expected that benefits will include improved user comfort and fit, increased aesthetic appeal and enhanced user safety, specific to their industrial environment. This has the potential to have knock on societal impacts extending far beyond the physical benefits.
Paper F presents a proposal for a Product Service System (PSS) which would provide customised safety footwear to the end user, designed and tested within a virtual environment. Each stage of the PSS is discussed, followed by the potential comfort, functional, societal, environmental impacts, barriers to implementation, as well as cost implications.
In addition to the academic articles and conference papers, the author has also written articles in industry publications, been an invited speaker at international commercial Health and Safety conferences, such as EHS Congress, Berlin 2023, and now advises on gender related PPE issues for groups such as the British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF), indicating the impactful and very necessary nature of the research.
| Date of Award | 4 Dec 2023 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Vimal Dhokia (Supervisor) & Bryan Clift (Supervisor) |