It is coming to the end of Women’s History Month. We couldn’t let it pass without one post about women in the workplace. The National Safety Council recently released its analysis of data from 2017. It found a number of areas where the likelihood of injury to women workers was disproportionately high.
Women more likely to be assaulted
The most troubling data found by the NSC is that 70 percent of assault-related injuries in the workplace involving days away from work involve women victims. The total number of women workers who sustained these injuries in 2017 was 12,820. This is up 60 percent from 2011. Male workers, on the other hand, were involved in 5,530 assault-related injuries.
Other areas of concern
There were other areas that disproportionately affected women workers:
- 61 percent of workers treated for repetitive motion injuries were women
- 59 percent of workers treated for injuries accidentally caused by another person were women
- 57 percent of workers treated for falls from the same level were women
Common occupations more dangerous to women
Some employment sectors are also disproportionately more dangerous to women. To the likely surprise to some, professions with a disproportionate number of non-fatal injuries and illnesses include:
- 80 percent of injured or ill healthcare workers are women
- 61 percent of injured or ill workers in education are women
- 60 percent of injured or ill managers, office workers or finance workers are women
The workplace must be safe for everyone
The National Safety Council has not analyzed the numbers state-by-state. However, employers and businesses here in New Mexico do not need to wait to make changes to safety protocols, educating staff, and be more aware of the dangers involving certain jobs.
Those women workers injured on the job should seek medical treatment as soon as possible. While they may want to file a workers’ comp claim, the injured woman worker may find it necessary to file a lawsuit against the responsible parties with the help of a knowledgeable personal injury attorney.
