New Website Offers Free Information Aimed at Bridging Gaps in Workplace Health and Safety
The CCOHS (Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety) has recently launched the Gender, Work and Health web portal aimed at helping to bridge the gap between gender, sex, and health, and their impact on the workplace.
 Safe and healthy workplaces rely on a sound understanding of how both the physical (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences between women, men and gender-diverse people influence work and health, and how knowledge of how to apply this towards improving occupational health and safety activities and will be of use to:
- Occupational health and safety practitioners
- Professionals
- Researchers
- Human resources professionals
- Policy makers
- Students
- Anyone with an interest in the health and well-being of workers
The Gender, Work and Health website provides its’ users with links to credible information, tools, research, and resources on topics associated with sex, gender, work, and health. These topics include sex and gender differences in workplace injury and illness rates, gaps in knowledge and strategies to improving risk prevention.
The resource was created as a result of CCOHS’s ‘knowledge translation partnership’ with the Institute of Gender and Health’s ‘Gender, Work and Health Chair Programme’.
Quick Facts
- Women shift workers with dependent children are more likely to get injured than their male counterparts
- Women and men are often offered different rehabilitation measures for similar health problems
- Physical differences and psychosocial factors influence injury and illness rates for men and women working identical jobs
Gareth Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer, CCOHS commented:
‘The world of work is constantly changing with new and emerging issues, and the way in which work is performed. Our challenge…is to understand how these new developments impact the health, safety and well-being of workers, and provide information and tools to help workplaces adapt…it is through partnerships and collaboration that we are most effective in advancing workplace health and safety. Together with our partner, the Institute of Gender and Health, we are able to share ground breaking research and resources through the Gender, Work and Health web portal.’
Cara Tannenbaum, MD, MSc, Scientific Director, Institute of Gender and Health, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Professor, Medicine and Pharmacy Université de Montréal said:
‘Sex and gender play a huge role in occupational health and safety…gender roles and relations influence the division of labour both in the workplace and outside working hours. Biological differences between males and females—in terms of height, weight or muscle, for instance—can influence an individual’s risk of certain injuries and their severity. This portal will…hopefully lead to more effective policies and procedures to safeguard the workplace health and wellness for all.’
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