Women workers face four types of work hazards - psychological, physical, biological and chemical hazards. The most serious psychological work hazard is stress and a major source of occupational stress is job dissatisfaction. The majority of women work in occupations where wages are low and where they have no control over decisions affecting them. This coupled with shift work and poor working conditions result in stress, one of the manifestations of which is mass hysteria - a common occurrence among factory workers in Malaysia. Physical hazards include noise, heat, ventilation and lighting, vibration, trauma and radiation, and biological hazards include exposure to bacteria, viruses, fungi and infections.
Chemical hazards are the most common.
They include a wide range of industrial solvents, anaesthetic gases, heavy metals, dyes, inks, asbestos, shampoos, detergents, pesticides and radioactive materials. Women workers at home, in factories, hospitals and shops and whether they work as typists, agricultural workers, teachers or hairdressers are all exposed to these hazards. For the female worker on plantations, her long and dangerous work as a breadwinner is further burdened by her household work. As a result, women workers suffer immense stress, hardship and strain and a general deterioration in their health. Women as Sellers Many Third World countries are dependent on foreign trade.