Occupational safety and health in Europe - state and trends 2023 
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work – EU-OSHA 56 
 
 
EU-OSHA specifies the particular disadvantages and health and safety risks of women at work on 
its thematic website on women and health at work,102 and in several OSHWiki articles.103 
• Work in specific sectors and specific types of work 
• Balance dual responsibilities at work and home 
• Are underrepresented at supervisor and management level 
• Are physically different to men, although there is often more variation between women than 
between men and women, for example, in physical strength 
• Do jobs that are often wrongly assumed to be safe and easy 
As mentioned, women have a lower accident rate but report higher levels of work-related health issues.  
 
Table 10: Accidents at work and health-related work problems, women and men – Eurostat104 
 
Also, the burden of household work  is still higher for women. Regarding ‘Food management and 
cleaning’, Eurostat reports a much higher percentage of women doing the se household tasks. The 
participation rate of women is o n average double that for men regarding food management and two to 
five times higher regarding cleaning.  
 
 
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