Women and occupational health risks

A growing number of women work today outside their homes. In the last twenty years, the percentage of women in the total labour force has increased in North America from 24.2 to 33.7 per cent and in Europe from 29.3 to 32.2 per cent. Reliable figures are not available for developing countries. The trend, however, is known to be the same. This situation has prompted WHO's Regional Office for Europe to convene a working group on "Women and occupational health risks". The meeting took place in Budapest (Hungary) on 16-18 February, 1982. Whereas guidelines for employment of women have been laid down in various conventions and recommendations of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the working group examined health problems encountered by women at the workplace, particularly those arising from their exposure to toxic chemicals and physical, biological, psychosocial and ergonomic factors.