NEW ORLEANS — The intersection of workplace safety and diversity, equity and inclusion is full of orange cones, according to a panel of experts who said DE&I efforts must include ways to make workers safer.
At its simplest, safety gloves don’t fit if you are a female electrician, and your hand can get caught in machinery, as was the case for Cheyenne Lucero, the safety coordinator with International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 0302 in Martinez, California, when she was an apprentice. In more complex terms, it’s feeling comfortable and invited to speak up about unsafe conditions, according to I. David Daniels, Atlanta-based president and CEO, ID2 Solutions LLC, which provides occupational health and safety consulting for companies.
Ms. Lucero and Mr. Daniels were among the panelists during a session Tuesday at the National Safety Council’s Safety Congress & Expo on the issue of including all workers in safety planning, training and execution.
The panel discussion followed a presentation by retired Maj. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, former U.S. Air Force chief of safety and the first female fighter pilot and female combat fighter wing commander in the branch of service. Her experiences, and those of other pioneer female pilots, included safety suits that didn’t fit and ejection seats that were not specified for the lighter weights of women.
Nicole Piggott, Montreal-based president and co-founder of Synclusiv Inc., which provides diversity and safety training for companies, worked in human resources in the mining industry when it began recruiting women. She said the efforts were a success, but injury rates went up.
“The women said, ‘My gloves keep falling off. My shoes don’t fit. My suits aren’t fitting,’” she said. “And that’s when we realized that our (personal protective equipment) wasn’t designed for women. I went to suppliers and said, ‘You want our business, you’re going to create PPE for women.’”
Ms. Piggot said the “light bulb moment” didn’t occur in the planning for hiring women “We hadn’t thought about how we make it possible for these people, for them to be successful in those roles.”
Mr. Daniels said psychosocial issues may stop workers from confidently speaking out when something is wrong. He stressed the importance of giving underrepresented workers a seat at the table when planning for safety.
“The issues often are in the systems and who is in the room when the systems are being designed,” he said.
Part of the solution lies in empowerment, according to Maj. Gen. Leavitt.
With inclusion “you feel like your opinion matters. You don’t know who’s going to see that hazard or that dangerous situation. And you want them to feel empowered to bring that forward,” she said.
During a later press conference, Lorraine Martin, president and CEO of the Itasca, Illinois-based National Safety Council, said reaching all workers in safety discussions and training is a paramount concern.
“It’s understanding who your workforce is, and then making sure that your training is aimed at the right people,” she said.
In addition to language barriers, “there are a lot of cultural issues to where in certain cultures you don’t admit weakness, you don’t admit, ‘I didn’t understand.” … You have to create an environment where they feel comfortable saying, ‘I don’t understand.’ That’s probably a really good place to start.”
