in Labor Statistics

U.S. Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics

Women Experience Fewer Job-related Injuries

omen incurred less than one-
tenth of the job-related fatal
injuries and about one-third of

the nonfatal injuries and illnesses that
required time off to recuperate in 1992-
96. During this period women ac-
counted for just under 50 percent of the
Nation's workforce.

One explanation for this large
discrepancy is that women are employed
in relatively less dangerous jobs such as
teaching or service occupations. Few
women work in the construction trades
or in other high-risk jobs where work is
generally performed outdoors. But if
more women enter high-risk occupations
their risk of injury or death may
increase.

Fatal injuries

Of the 32,000 job-related fatalities that
occurred during the period 1992-96,
slightly over 2,500 (8 percent) occurred
to women. Two-thirds of these work
injury deaths were attributed to
homicides and highway incidents. (See
table.)

Homicides, Women accounted for 20
percent of all job-related homicides in
1992-96. Most homicide victims were
shot; but women were strangled or
beaten to death relatively more often
than men. Two-thirds of the homicides
occurred in the retail and service
industries.

About one-third of the women who
were murdered on the job worked in
sales occupations either as a cashier,
supervisor, proprietor, or clerk, Robbery
was the primary motive for these fatal
assaults.

More than 25 percent of the female
victims of job-related homicides were
assaulted by people they knew (co-

Summary 98-8
July 1998

and Deaths than Men

workers, clients, spouses, or friends).
About 16 percent of female homicides
resulted from domestic disputes that
spilled over into the workplace.

Highway vehicle crashes. Job-related
highway incidents claimed the lives of
650 women during 1992-96, a little over
2 percent of all fatalities during the
period. Health care and social service
workers accounted for almost 20 percent
of these deaths—about the same number
as motor vehicle operators, such as truck

and bus drivers and driver-sales workers.

Other incidents resulting in fatalities.
About 15 percent of the fatal injuries to
women resulted from other transporta-
tion-related incidents, such as aircraft
or being struck by a vehicle.
s accounted for § percent of the
job-related fatalities among women,
compared with 11 percent for men.
Another 5 percent of female workers
fatalities resulted from contact with
objects and equipment, such as being
crushed in running machinery or struck
by a falling object. Exposure to harmful
substances or environments, such as

electrocutions, drownings, and the
inhalation of chemicals, accounted for 4
percent of the fatalities among women
workers. Two percent of the women
killed at work were victims of fire and
explosions.

Comparing occupational fatality rates.
Besides incurring fewer fatal work
injuries than men, women have much
lower fatality rates than men. Employed
women had a fatality rate of less than |
fatal injury per 100.000 in 1996,
compared with employed men who had 8
fatal work injuries per 100,000 for the
same period of time.

Nonfatal injuries and illnesses
Women incurred slightly over a third of
the 2 million cases of work-related
injuries and illnesses resulting in days
away from work that occurred among
private sector wage and salary workers
in 199.
Sprains and strains among women
accounted for 45 percent of their job-
related injury and illness cases,
compared to 42 percent among men.

Job-related assaults by sex

eee —__

Nonfatal injury (1995)

Men

40 60 80 100
Percent of total

| SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries



Women accounted for more cases
than men of carpal tunnel syndrome,
tendonitis, respiratory system diseases,
infectious and parasitic diseases, and
disorders resulting from anxiety or stress.

Almost half of the female workers’
injuries and illnesses resulted from
bodily reaction or exertion, such as
overexertion in lifting or pushing and
repetitive grasping of handtools. Falls,
primarily on the same level, and contact
with objects (such as being struck by
falling objects, striking against objects,
or getting caught in running equipment)
each accounted for about 20 percent of
the job-related injuries among women.

Women were more likely to be
saulted than men and accounted for
about 65 percent of the nearly 23,000
reported assault-related injuries. The
manner in which women were assaulted
varied. About 70 percent resulted in days
away from work and occurred in the ser-
vice industries such as nursing homes,
social services, and hospitals. Another
20 percent occurred in retail industries —
the most vulnerable workers being
female stock handlers who incurred
about 25 percent of these assaults.

For additional information
For additional information on this

Job related fatalities by event or exposure, 1992-96

material, see Guy A. Toscano, Janice A.
Windau, and Andrew Knestaut, “Work
Injuries and Ilnesses Occurring to
Women,” Compensation and Working
Conditions, Summer 1998. General and
technical information is available on the
Bureau’s Internet site at http://
stats.bls.gov/oshhome.htm, or via e-
mail at cfoistaff@bls.gov

Material in this summary is in the
public domain and, with appropriate
credit, may be reproduced without
permission. This information is
available to sensory impaired individuals
upon request. Voice phone: (202) 606-
7828; TDD phone: (202) 606-5879, TDD
message referral phone: 1 800-32

Women Men
Event or exposure
Number Percent Number Percent
Total ... 2,506 100 29,061 100
Homicides .. 973 39 4,173 14
Highway crashes . 650 26 5,764 20
Struck by vehicle . 156 6 1,683 6
Falls .... 137 5 3,081 1
Aircraft crashes 128 5 1,536 5
Contact with objects 125 5 4,862 7
Harmful exposures, 102 4 2,868 10
Other ... 235 9 5,094 18

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1992-96

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