How to Build a Gender-aware Culture of Safety at Work

A workplace safety culture is built on the shared values, beliefs and attitudes of an organization and its employees, and is translated into specific policies, procedures and practices that are internalized and enforced across all levels of the organization. Such a culture is key to ensure the workforce’s safety and productivity and it is therefore crucial that an organization’s safety culture considers the specific risks faced by people of different genders in the workplace.

To be sure, several aspects of a good workplace safety culture are best implemented as gender agnostic, as they are aimed at creating a safe environment for all employees regardless of gender. This does not mean, however, that special attention should not be paid to those specific risks that are, for instance, a.) more frequently faced by women or that b.) are materially different for women. A “one-size fits all” approach would ultimately negate the objectives of having a safety culture in the first place and would be detrimental to an organization’s diversity and inclusion objectives.

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