FEMICIDE 

Safety at work: Which occupations provide the greatest risk to female workers?

By Dr. Tim Sandle
February 5, 2025


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How safe are certain occupations? Do these occupations have differences in terms of gender when it comes to defining safety? These questions are pertinent for those professions that have a disproportionate bias towards a given gender.

DeMayo Law Offices has released an analysis identifying the industries that pose the greatest risks to women’s safety in the workplace. The findings reveal patterns of harassment, discrimination, and inadequate safety measures in male-dominated fields such as manufacturing, agriculture, transportation, and construction, among others.

Too often occupational health and safety treats men and women as if they were the same, or makes gender-stereotypes.

The key findings from the report ‘Women in High-Risk Industries: Addressing Safety and Gender-Based Challenges’ have been provided to Digital Journal.

“Many industries still fail to provide safety measures tailored to women, whether it’s properly fitting PPE or enforcing anti-harassment policies,” DeMayo Law Offices says in a statement. “Our analysis found that women often face both physical and emotional risks in these fields, making the need for workplace reforms more urgent than ever.”

Manufacturing (29.3% women)

Harassment:
o Only 21% of manufacturing workers are women, yet they file 32% of harassment claims (EEOC, 2021).
o Reporting Gap: Only 30% of harassment incidents in male-dominated fields are reported due to fear of retaliation (Harvard Business Review, 2022).

Agriculture (28.7% women)

Fatalities:
o While the overall fatality rate is 18.6 per 100k workers, women face unique risks: 40% of female farmworkers report sexual harassment, and pesticide exposure disproportionately impacts Latina farmworkers (National Agricultural Workers Survey, 2020).
o Childcare Risks: Women balancing fieldwork and childcare are 2x more likely to suffer injuries involving machinery (CDC/NIOSH).

Transportation/Trucking (21.4% women)

Isolation & Harassment:
o A 2023 Women In Trucking Association survey found 53% of female drivers experienced verbal harassment, and 12% faced physical assault (WIT).
Safety Solutions: Companies with gender-neutral restrooms and GPS panic buttons report 35% fewer harassment incidents (American Trucking Association, 2022).

Construction (5.1% women)

• PPE & Injuries:
o 80% of women report ill-fitting PPE (e.g., gloves, harnesses), increasing fall and laceration risks (CPWR, 2021).
o Fatalities: Women account for 2% of construction deaths but face higher rates of fatal falls (17% vs. 11% for men) (OSHA, 2023).

Teaching

• Threats & Violence:
o U.S. Context: 29% of K-12 teachers (disproportionately women) report threats or physical violence from students (National Center for Education Statistics, 2022).
o Mental Health: 67% of female educators report burnout linked to unsafe environments (RAND Corporation, 2023).

Healthcare

• Workplace Violence:
o Post-COVID Spike: Nonfatal violence injuries rose 63% in healthcare from 2019–2022; nurses are 5x more likely to be assaulted than other workers (BLS, 2023).
o Underreporting: 50% of assaults go unreported due to normalization of violence as “part of the job” (Journal of Emergency Nursing, 2021).

Social Work

• Assaults:
o Recent Data: 1 in 4 social workers experienced physical violence in 2022, with LGBTQ+ workers facing compounded risks (NASW, 2023).
o Policy Gaps: Only 15% of agencies provide trauma training for field workers (CSWE, 2022).

In addition, the above there are some interesting cross-sectional findings. In particular, women of colour and LGBTQ+ women face up to three times higher rates of harassment and violence across all industries.

It also stands that these incidences are costly to the economy and to specific companies. Workplace violence costs employers $20 billion annually in turnover and legal fees.