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Gender and technological hazards: women at risk in hospital settings

University of New Orleans, LA, USA

Pamela Jenkins

University of New Orleans, LA, USA

In this paper, we describe and analyze hospitals as dangerous places to work. We summarize into four major areas the technological and social hazards to which health care workers are exposed: physical hazards and accidents, chem ical or toxicological hazards, infectious diseases, and social hazards — includ ing stress and sexual harassment. Further, we discuss the structural barriers which mitigate workers' perceptions of these risks and limit their ability to de fine their workplace as dangerous. Primary among these are the occupational hierarchy, including sex and race segregation, and the differential vulnerability related to that hierarchy. We conclude that in place of a narrow research focus on the biological and technological nature of workplace hazards, we must also bring the worker in as a central and necessary actor to achieving a safe environment.

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