Most of the presenters at the recent “Women in Safety” forum indicated that they have not faced many gender-based struggles in the safety and health profession, according to a press release from the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE).

“We are starting to see more women enter the safety, health and environmental field,” said Dr. Tracey Cekada, PhD, CSP, CHSP, who helped organize the forum, which was held by the ASSE student section at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and the Safety Sciences Departmental Teaching Circle at IUP. “We are also starting to see more women assume management roles in the EHS profession, climb ‘the ladder’ faster and obtain their certified safety professional (CSP) accreditation.”

The forum was intended to address the challenges facing women in the environmental, health and safety (EHS) industry, as more women enter the profession. It also covered the evolution of women in safety and the role of women in the future of the occupational EHS profession.

The forum focused on several issues concerning women in safety including: researching the evolution of women in the safety sciences field; examining female representation in the safety sciences curriculum; identifying ways to recruit and keep women students in the field; identifying some of the gender-based struggles encountered in the program and workplace struggles; examining specific conflicts developed from women’s work in the field; and broadening the understanding of women’s capabilities in the field.

Dr. Cekada added, “Women have to understand that they are considered valuable to the profession, especially by those they are working with.”