Employers Exposed When Women’s Safety Equipment Doesn’t Fit

The military has been asking for equipment sized to the female body since 1978. Last month, an advisory panel on women in the Armed Forces made that request again.

“Poorly fitting equipment is a leading cause of injury in servicemembers,” a March Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services annual report reads. Given that most traditional equipment was designed to fit men, “women are the most likely to suffer from injuries as a result of incorrectly fitting gear,” the report says.

And recently, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was forced to reassign one female astronaut on the International ...