WOMEN IN MINING •

Initial challenges for women in mining It was , however , a long and hard road to get to this point . The first challenge was something as simple as a female change house . The first females had to change either in offices during very specific time slots in the manager ’ s change house or in the bathroom and in extreme cases had to stay in their overalls all day .

Today , most mines have dedicated female change houses catering for the needs of their female workers , including provision of sanitary pads or tampons and the safe disposal of the used items .

The situation also caused discomfort underground where no toilet facilities were available . The use of one-piece overalls was also found to be problematic as this required female workers to partially undress whenever using the facilities . This was a major issue , as sexual harassment was and is a reality that is dealt with regularly in a mining environment .

PPE : a major challenge The next challenge was personal protective equipment ( PPE ). Initially it was thought that PPE is unisex , but it became apparent quickly that this was not the case .

The needs of females had to be taken into consideration when designing overalls , both for one piece and two-piece overalls . It was found that the standard overalls were either oversized or too tight fitting .

This impeded the movement and safety of the wearer and required minor alterations to ensure that the female workers had well-fitting overalls , taking into consideration the female body ’ s wider hips and breasts , ensuring flexibility and mobility to perform their tasks .

There has also been a movement away from synthetic materials used in the overalls and supplied underwear to natural fibres , such as cotton . The benefit is that natural material is breathable and does not increase body temperature . It also reduces the chafing , and rashes and reduces the risk of infections .

Fortunately , most other PPE is adjustable and able to cater to the needs of female workers . This includes ensuring that hard hats were adjustable and could accommodate hair styles ranging from short to long . This also included introducing hairnets to minimise the risk when working around potential risk areas where hair could catch in infrastructure or moving equipment or machinery parts .

Safety boots were also tailored to fit smaller shoe sizes , again ensuring minimum movement of feet inside the boots and allowing maximum flexibility and mobility for female workers to perform their duties comfortably .

It also reduces discomfort and chafing or blistering due to movement or incorrectly fitted socks being worn . The same applies to gloves , that need to fit snugly , but comfortably to ensure safe working conditions . In general , female hands are shorter and have narrower fingers and a smaller palm circumference .

Ear plugs or muffs are individually manufactured and fitted by most mining operator for all employees that require these . It is a general mine regulation that no jewellery can be worn while on duty , including earrings which may cause discomfort while wearing earmuffs .

The remaining PPE could be considered unisex , including adjustable reflective vests , adjustable gas masks , adjustable kneeor elbow-guards and fitted goggles . It however remains the duty of