Women, work and musculoskeletal health

Why are employed women at increased risk for upper limb musculoskeletal disorders and what can this tell us about the way work and family life shape health? Despite increases in women's labour force participation, gender differences in work-related health conditions have received little research attention. This appears be the first study to examine why employed women are much more likely than men to experience upper body musculoskeletal disorders. A mailed self-report survey gathered data from 737 Australian Public Service employees (73% women). The majority of respondents were clerical workers (73%). Eighty one per cent reported some upper body symptoms; of these, 20% reported severe and continuous upper body pain. Upper body musculoskeletal symptoms were more prevalent and more severe among women. The gender difference in symptom severity was explained by risk factors at work (repetitive work, poor ergonomic equipment), and at home (having less opportunity to relax and exercise outside of work). Parenthood exacerbated this gender difference, with mothers reporting the least time to relax or exercise. There was no suggestion that women were more vulnerable than men to pain, nor was there evidence of systematic confounding between perceptions of work conditions and reported health status. Changes in the nature of work mean that more and more employees, especially women, use computers for significant parts of their workday. The sex-segregation of women into sedentary, repetitive and routine work, and the persisting gender imbalance in domestic work are interlinking factors that explain gender differences in musculoskeletal disorders.