Building Better PPE for Women in Construction

Properly fitting personal protective equipment is essential for protecting women in construction while improving comfort, confidence, and worker retention. Expanding research and involving tradeswomen in PPE design can help close longstanding gaps in workplace safety.

• By Francene Scott Diehl
• Sep 14, 2026

We have all heard the phrase “dress for success,” but rarely is this applied to personal protective equipment (PPE) in the workplace. Properly fitting PPE for women in construction is a global problem (Lan Oo, 2023).

Women make up approximately 11% of the U.S. construction workforce as of 2025, but not all women in construction work in the trades (Institute for Women's Policy Research , 2025). Despite several occupations becoming more attractive to women in recent years, this has not included skilled trades in the construction industry where women currently make up less than 5% of the workforce.  

Access to Properly Fitting PPE is Critical for Safety

The Department of Labor numbers have revealed that construction continues to have the lowest representation of women in its workforce when compared to all other industries except mining (Wagner, Kim, & Gordon, 2013).  Studies conducted over recent years show that many women in trades tied their overall job satisfaction directly to the satisfaction of their PPE and work equipment (Wagner, Kim, & Gordon, 2013). This barrier is no longer one that is perceived but is measurable and real. Women still face difficulties in accessing properly =fitting PPE (Lan Oo, 2023).

For women working in construction, having access to properly fitting PPE is critical, as improper fit can lead to serious injuries and even fatalities. The construction industry continues to be one of the most hazardous industries due to its dynamic, temporary and decentralized workforce (Lan Oo, 2023).  PPE is often used as the last line of defense for several construction hazards lacking proper safety controls. This makes PPE for women a non-negotiable when navigating the hazards in construction.

Worker Retention and Properly Fitting PPE are Linked

Talking to women in construction who are directly impacted by this problem may be the first step to resolving it. For years manufacturers left women out of conversations that centered around the PPE needs for women (Walker, 2010).  

Until the early 2000s, the concept of “shrink it and pink it” was the primary strategy used to outfit women for PPE in high hazard jobs (Caputo, 2023).  This type of approach failed to address women’s anatomy.  For very petite women and pregnant women, outfitting them with PPE proved challenging. 

Companies create protective clothing standards for their employees through risk assessments and there is the expectation that all employees will have access to these items. When sourcing these items for women in construction is difficult, this may have impact on worker retention. According to the Discrimination Research Center and Equal Right Advocates, the connection between overall job satisfaction and PPE was only made due to the construction industry having trouble retaining women (Discrimination Research Center and Equal Rights Advocate, 2007). The one empirical study conducted by Wagner et al. indicated that proper-fitting PPE led to tradeswomen in construction’s overall job satisfaction (Wagner, Kim, & Gordon, 2013).

Research Findings on Women in Construction

There have been very few recent studies on the health and safety of women in construction (Wagner, Kim, & Gordon, 2013). Studies conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the late 1990s found several issues impacting women in construction to include workplace culture, personal protective equipment inadequacy, and hazard exposures on the job (Wagner, Kim, & Gordon, 2013).  Both studies concluded that women felt the need to overcompensate for their work in the industry due to lack of inclusion and described the institutional barriers and the great level of persistence that women needed to maintain longevity in the industry (Wagner, Kim, & Gordon, 2013). 

Although neither of the studies focused specifically on inclusion, the lack of representation in construction by women indicates that this issue continues to exist today. This point is further supported by a study conducted in 2022 which showed that even men reported feeling uncomfortable with employees wearing pink PPE versus traditional colors such as gray PPE (Schauer, Klesmith, & Fu, 2022). It appears that this effort by the industry to “shrink and pink” women PPE may have added to an already complex gender problem in the industry. 

While PPE research does exist, very few studies have taken into consideration the differences in body characteristics of the genders (Wagner, Kim, & Gordon, 2013). Men have longer hands and feet, smaller lumbar curves and on average are about 12 to 15 centimeters taller than women (MJ., et al., 2024). All the variances between male and female anatomies should be factored in when studying PPE, specifically the diversity of size requirements that female workers require.

Dressing for Success

According to Forbes, dressing for success means wearing professional and well-fitting attire which aligns with the company culture (Carol Kinsey Goman, 2012). In construction safety, this would include a woman’s PPE. Wearing proper fitting PPE is not just a matter of safety, but one of inclusion and confidence.

It is often said that confidence is essential in the workplace, and dressing for success can be key to confidence in your job (Vasquez, 2024). When a functional model was developed, the Functional Expressive and Aesthetic, by Jane M. Lamb and M. Jo Kallal, to evaluate the design of PPE, it included the evaluation of fit, comfort, protection and also evaluated aesthetic considerations (Lamb & Kallall, 1992). In a nutshell, people wanted clothing to fit and to be aesthetically appealing to include being fashionable in color and style, which supports looking good while working (Wagner, Kim, & Gordon, 2013).  Wearing clothing that makes a person feel comfortable and confident can help with their success (Vasquez, 2024).

Aesthetics in PPE includes art and design principles as well as body versus garment relationships which plays a crucial role in the acceptance of PPE; with unattractive PPE being determined as one of the top three causes of dissatisfaction and non-compliance (Wagner, Kim, & Gordon, 2013).  If women don’t like the design of the PPE, they are no different than men in their rejection and non-compliance of wearing it.

Women also want PPE products that reflect gender distinction; meaning the women in construction still want to dress as women while working (Lamb & Kallall, 1992).  This is important in construction where research has shown that the male-centered culture of the industry has left women out of the design, sales and marketing strategy conversations of many PPE manufacturers with marketing still relying heavily on the white-male model of average size (Lan Oo, 2023).

There is still a call to action to address ill-fitting PPE for women in many high-risk industries, including construction. In 2020, it was estimated that women’s PPE market was valued at approximately $800 million, which is being driven by an increase in women across many industrial sectors (Caputo, 2023). However, the construction industry holds the key to solving this problem for the future. Engaging construction tradeswomen with PPE clothing pilots and committing research dollars are vital.

The construction industry needs to conduct more industry studies and not wait for regulatory bodies to continue holding the mantel on research.  These efforts should also include partnering with manufacturers to provide tradeswomen with more opportunities to participate in the design, testing and marketing phases of PPE, with a focus on daily-wear items. There is still room for improvement and there should be no ideas that are off the table.  Every worker deserves to wear clothing that makes them feel comfortable, confident and that can keep them safe.

This article originally appeared in the September 2026 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.