CAN SAFETY RISKS OF BLUE-COLLAR JOBS BE COMPARED BY GENDER

Studies of accident rates use denominators which vary in their precisi on and detail. These imprecisions may impact differentially on acciden t rates of men and women, given their distribution across the labour m arket. Difficulties in making male/female comparisons were illustrated by a study of accidents and health symptoms among blue collar workers . We examined occupational health claims presented to the Quebec Occup ational Health and Safety Commission by male and female municipal work ers in 1989-1990, and interviewed 55 male and 58 female workers, askin g questions on health symptoms and difficulties experienced on the job . No increase in accidents was found among permanent women workers com pared with their male equivalents, and precipitating events and sites of injury were similar. However, the statistics were not strictly comp arable. Four factors complexified the male-female comparisons of accid ent rates: (1) gender differences in hours worked, (2) gendered task a ssignments within industrial classifications, occupations and job titl es, (3) gender differences in age/seniority, and (4) gender difference s in the interaction between equipment and tool dimensions and work ac tivity. Women were less senior, worked fewer hours and were assigned t o a small minority of job titles. Interviews revealed a gendered divis ion of labour within many supposedly integrated jobs, and use of diffe rent methods to do the same tasks. Men and women reported different mu sculoskeletal symptom profiles, which could be attributed to differenc es in tasks, biology or work methods. In view of these results, we sug gest that comparing male and female accident rates be done with extrem e prudence, taking into account women's and men's specific situations in the workplace.