National Association of Women in Construction, Yorkshire Campaign Manager, Katy Robinson, talked about some of the current issues faced by minority groups and how the industry can make improvements.

Then, Amy Compton and Dr Charlotte Usher from RSK Group discussed the procurement journey that RSK have been on to enhance their offering of PPE for all their employees and the improvements they are seeing. 

The panel were also joined by Claire Langley from Arco to answer questions from the audience about the different PPE services and safety products available.

Some of the key takeaways were:

• Poor fitting PPE can cause injuries and even long-term health issues.
• Poor fitting and uncomfortable PPE can lead to anxiety and effect whether people continue to work in the sector.
• Awareness is key – products are available to suit everyone but we need to spread that message to decision makers.
• Women and minority groups feel uncomfortable speaking up about how uncomfortable they are and this perpetuates the issue.
• Women's PPE does not have to be more expensive. Arco have a policy to ensure like for like products in both male and female ranges are price matched.

If you want to find out more, you can:

Watch the webinar in full: https://www.gotostage.com/channel/cd8113384f2d4945a5dfe5c5ba3d38e0/recording/57f07e9b8fcf4983bc81df030f7fd33b/watch

Read the NAWIC Women’s PPE in the construction industry report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kG35F5JiIv_2FYaN388PRRnHHqR0z4Q1/view 

Read more: https://www.rospa.com/news-and-views/womens-ppe-in-construction

L-R Katy Robinson, Dr Charlotte Usher, Amy Compton and Claire Langley