While women only comprise nine percent of the workforce in the construction industry, these workers often face dangers which are unique to their gender. Equipment to protect the worker may be designed for men and not properly fit a female worker. Also, sanitation facilities provided for workers may have been designed with men in mind and may not be adequate for women.
Employers may simply be behind when it comes to employing women at construction sites. The workplace culture may not be geared towards the needs of the female worker. The employer may supply women inadequate training or take shortcuts when it comes to preventing workplace injuries.
As Maryland attorneys that represent workers injured in construction accidents, it's almost impossible to overstate how many different ways that construction workers can be injured. Workers can be injured in falls after scaffolding has collapsed, can be injured by heavy machinery, can be burned, exposed to toxic chemicals, can be struck by falling objects, etc. While injuries often keep these workers away from the job, they are nevertheless expected to pay out money for medical treatment and rehabilitation. They also will often have spouses and children dependent upon them.
While women remain in the minority in the construction field, there are still currently 800,000 female construction workers throughout the country. It is our guess that this number will continue to increase in the coming years. The National Association of Women in Construction has teamed up with other organizations like OSHA to provide its members information concerning safety and training.