Identify the training needs in occupational safety and health with a gender perspective in delegates of prevention

Methodological Construction Procedure

As a data collection technique, the semi-structured interview was used, with a script of open-ended guiding questions as the instrument, allowing the informant the flexibility to recount, in the most comfortable manner, their experience regarding the reality of their workplace through guidance on the researched topic. The interview was divided into 3 phases to establish the preamble and build trust. First, the employer and the Occupational Safety and Health Committee of the Work Centers that were convened and visited were verbally informed of the reason for and purpose of conducting this research and of the request for the participation of the male and female Prevention Delegates; the interview was intentionally oriented around 8 questions. Second, a representative of the employer introduced the interviewer, and each informant was given the informed consent form, which they read in detail and were asked to freely sign in order to continue with the research process and data collection. There were 8 participants (4 male Prevention Delegates and 4 female Prevention Delegates); then, the dates and times were set to conduct the interviews, which lasted approximately 15 to 20 minutes each.

After the audio information was obtained, a smartphone was used, and the third point was addressed: transcription, cleaning, and sweeping of the discourses; ordering of the transcriptions; categorization and coding of the discourse; and analysis and final summary to capture the realities experienced by prevention delegates in their workplaces, the training activities received, the perception of health repercussions in their workplaces, and gender-perspective content in the Training Programs.

The analysis is conducted under the strategy of methodological triangulation, where, upon obtaining categories and subcategories, the theoretical bases will be compared with the contributions made by the informants and the author's interpretation; conclusions and recommendations are presented.

Selection of Informants

Using purposive sampling, a verbal invitation was extended to the male and female prevention delegates of 15 workplaces in various production areas within Páez Municipality, Portuguesa State, Venezuela, for 2024. These companies were selected by the researcher with prior knowledge that registered female prevention delegates existed, but only 8 of these workplaces responded to the invitation. Thus, it was possible to secure the participation of 8 informants, whose inclusion criterion was sex, comprising 4 male prevention delegates and 4 female prevention delegates, in addition to the signing of the Informed Consent as a confirmation element, so that the information provided by male and female participants was collected under equal conditions.

Information Recording

For information collection and recording, an audio recorder is used to record the informants' experiences, along with the signing of informed consent. Participants are informed about the purpose of the research, the researcher's identity, the procedures to be carried out, the duration of participation, the right to withdraw from the study at any time, and the fact that no monetary benefits would be granted for such participation. Confidentiality of their contributions is guaranteed at all times to avoid harm or risks for the participant and/or society; also guaranteed are their right to know the results of the research and to request a copy of them, and the mechanisms for contacting the researcher in case of any doubt in this regard. A space is provided for the participant to place their signature and fingerprints voluntarily and without coercion, stating that they agreed to participate in this process and have understood the purpose of the research, in accordance with the principles of autonomy, non-maleficence, responsibility, justice, and those set forth in the FONACIT Bioethics and Biosafety Code (7); subsequently, the information is transcribed and cleaned.

For the editorial preparation of this manuscript, a large-scale language model (artificial intelligence) was used as an assistance tool in converting citations and references to Vancouver style and in standardizing the tables. The author reviewed, verified, and validated the entirety of the content and assumes full responsibility for the integrity of the data, the interpretation, and the conclusions of the research.

Demographic description of the participants

8 male and female prevention delegates from 8 work centers in Páez Municipality, Portuguesa State, Venezuela, participated, as shown in Table 1: 4 with male sex identity and 4 with female sex identity; notably, 2 of them reported a homosexual orientation during the interviews.

Source: own elaboration (2024).

Occupational health and safety is a discipline that encompasses multiple specialized topics for addressing the relationship between work and health and preventing the negative consequences of work. Gender is conceptually the social construction of the masculine and the feminine, and today it even encompasses sex-diverse expressions. In this regard, Acevedo states:

“A gender perspective in occupational health and safety contributes to broadening and deepening the characterization of the human factor of work by recognizing its sexed character, its psychobiological, social, and cultural differences and needs, and their implications for work organization, work activity, the social relations between the sexes established in the work process, the health consequences for female and male workers, and safety management (1)”. (p.1).

The prevention delegates are elected by their coworkers, but they often do not know how to carry out their functions, attributions, and powers; when these legally granted tools are not recognized, the benefits of the entire legal system that has advanced women's rights and gender equality are left as a dead letter, and participation in decision-making roles, participation in training, and social change are relegated. Likewise, the prevention delegate, within the androcentric structure in which the division of labor by sex still prevails, reflects the limited recognition of the productive and reproductive work of working women, equality of opportunities in training, and discrimination by sex and in masculinized sectors.

The connection between the script structure established by the author to address the research objectives, the participants' discourses, and their spontaneity allowed the discovery of a differentiated perception of working realities, consistent with the observation carried out and the non-verbal expressions of the female and male prevention delegates. Notably, 2 of them reported a homosexual orientation and referred to occupying feminized or masculinized job positions, evidencing gender bias at work and attentiveness to how discrimination is expressed based on the social structure of work—a situation that, moreover, has changed little in our society.

Based on the narratives provided by the participants, a gender distinction is made to stratify their discourses; categories and subcategories emerged, and in some cases particular expressions were evidenced. A summary of this is shown in the following table:

Source: own elaboration based on the interviews (2024).

The interpretation of the results of this research was contrasted with contributions from gender perspective theory and occupational health and safety, previous studies (i.e., the research background), and key informants. In this way, the present account is organized according to the operationalization of the categories identified in the research objectives.

Training: decision-making for learning in being, knowledge, and doing.

In the academic and professional world, it has been considered a factor that determines changes in the structures where it is applied, and it is known as “Training”, understood as the consistent and planned effort to transform or develop knowledge (Buckley and Caple (8)), skills and actions through learning (Del Pozo Delgado (9)), and to achieve adequate performance of an individual or group in an activity or range of activities in their environment (Vargas Zúñiga (10)).

Types of Training

Conceptually, Training is the term most used in most organizations, regardless of their type; its use implies that, in addition to affecting technical aspects (skills and knowledge) and influencing attitudes, which must be shared by all members of the organization, it is not limited to the level of knowing and knowing how to do. Vargas Zúñiga (10) defines it as a proactive, systematic, humanistic, dialectical, and participatory process through which the individuals involved directly and indirectly construct, acquire, and expand knowledge, develop skills, and improve attitudes, in order to perform successfully as a mature personality, not only in the present and future job position but also in the remaining spheres of their circle of relationships as a social being. In this regard, the participants reported the types of training received as follows:

“Little training, on a single occasion, on occupational risks and the use of personal protective equipment, ... but that was as far as it went; they did not give us further information and to date we have not had more training in that area” (Emilia)

“No, to be honest with you, no.” (Yohana)

“There was a topic that we covered on how to use helmets, what helmets are for, what safety glasses are for, what gloves are for, and we also did a firefighter course, which was excellent, because we mostly work with the issue of flammables, and it is, for us, it is a course that truly is, for us, an experience” (Marlene)

“We had a fire prevention course... more than anything, that has been the first talk we have had” (Carolina).

The female Prevention Delegates report training in the form of industrial safety talks, but they do not identify the risks within their workplace, and training in this regard is characterized as precarious, with an absence of concern regarding knowledge management. On the other hand, the male Prevention Delegates state the following with greater certainty:

“No. Not because of time” (Freddy)

“Yes, ... among them was the use of fire extinguishers, ... handling, how to do it, how at the time of any emergency, they know what to do, and it was extremely important, they gave it to us ... the Firefighters. Another that was excellent ... was the session on unsafe conditions in enclosed spaces and how to avoid them, ...” (Amabilis)

“In the years that I have been in my position, only on a single occasion ... they gave us the instructions, we had half an hour ..., an hour of talk ..., about how the process was, ... they covered the most essential points, both as prevention delegate and the duties that must be performed, what should be done, ... what should not be done, ... but inductions when staff join are not provided” (Yampier)

“I took industrial safety courses, a fire control and extinguishing course, at the fire department, a training course as a prevention delegate, and if you ... try to ... you train yourself to train them” (Carlos)

For its part, the Organic Law of Labour, Workers and Working Women (11) establishes that Training is:

“Article 294: For the purposes of this Law, the collective, comprehensive, continuous, and permanent training carried out by male and female workers in the social process of work is conceived as such, comprehensively developing cognitive, affective, and practical aspects, overcoming the fragmentation of knowing, knowledge, and the division between manual and intellectual activities.”

That is why a gender perspective and training in occupational health and safety help to extend and deepen recognition of the human factor in work, by being consistent with its sexed form, making visible its particular psychological and biological differences and needs, as well as social and cultural ones, and also make visible their implications for the organization and activity of work, the social relations between men and women that are established in the work process, the consequences for the health of women and men workers, and safety management.

Sexual Division of Labour

The differential assignment of occupations emerged from the multiple narratives of the participants, referring to responsibilities and tasks according to people's sex, arguing natural attributes and limitations for being a man or a woman. The prevention delegates express themselves as follows:

“... I get along well with each of my coworkers, ... with bosses, you always have the occasional difference, but you put up with them.” (Emilia)

“... actually I am the only woman in the group, I have 4 bosses and my colleague is recently joining the team, and well, ... sometimes it leaves me at a bit of a disadvantage ...” (Carolina)

“Exactly, excellent, I would say, the relationship with my coworkers... then I take all those comments, well, in writing, to the meetings I have with the employer side; in a certain way, they are very collaborative with us” (Amabilis).

“...with my colleagues, good, the best, and with my superiors, it is mutual respect” (Carlos).

Gender relations are shaped by the fact that women’s access to certain jobs has been restricted; however, history has shown that women have performed jobs traditionally assigned to men and vice versa, owing to conjunctural productive needs, as evidenced in the discourses of female workers:

“Well, I was hired for the administrative assistant position” (Freddy).

“Right now, my duties are, at this moment, at the transport level: keeping an eye on the trucks” (Marlene).

Age/sexual orientation/political/racial discrimination: known realities

Discrimination occurs when people are treated unequally according to their gender, age, political inclination, or race; therefore, in this research, the informants stated that they had not suffered gender discrimination at certain stages of their working life, but they did report knowledge of third-party experiences, and these have been expressed in different forms, which are described below:

“...I have heard that they do not hire women of a certain age, for example, from 20 to 30, 35... who are in the process of getting married or have a partner, because the tendency is for them to become pregnant; if it happens, they have made them sign their resignation so that the company does not have to comply with what is required by law, which is post- and pre-natal leave...” and “...but I have realized that managerial positions are occupied by men, not women...” (Carolina).

“...look, here we have one lesbian person working, and no, there isn't; for her it is the same respect; we treat her the same as everyone” (Yohana).

“...I had to talk about it because truly... for being Black, for being Black, no! I think that Black man has his name.” Other cases, such as “discrimination due to pregnancy (owing to pre- and post-natal leaves).” “Could it be that a document must be submitted saying that I’m not going to have any more children…” “Legal protection has affected women… …I witnessed that they look for homosexual women who —supposedly— would not get pregnant.” “They neither discriminate against me nor do I discriminate against them… …you have to listen to the worker” (Marlene).

“…that mostly happens when elections come, presidential ones, that the boss wants so-and-so to win… no… you vote for so-and-so because I’m from such-and-such and I don’t want you to vote for… because if not, I’ll fire you” (Carlos)

The Organic Law Against Racial Discrimination, published in the Official Gazette on December 19, 2011(12), promulgated with the aim of establishing adequate mechanisms to prevent, address, eradicate and punish racial discrimination in any of its manifestations, guaranteeing all persons and groups of persons the enjoyment and exercise of their rights and duties enshrined in the Constitution (13) (...), addressing discrimination on the basis of gender, age, political or sexual orientation that arise from the differences between men and women that are constructed at the social level, which restrict the human and civil rights of workers, to the development of their capacities based on their knowledge and attitudes and not on the basis of their age or family burden.

Productive–reproductive work relationship: applies to both

The predominant patriarchal culture assigns the great majority of women to family responsibilities, even when they have work responsibilities that occupy a large part of the day; they also perform domestic tasks, receive no help from family or other members, and men's participation is not very noticeable, as expressed by the prevention delegates and some delegates who, in this sense, state that they participate with their partner in household tasks:

“At home I have work and plenty of it, because many times I tell them: but help me!!! Because I get tired” (Emilia).

“Super exhausted. Of course. I am a very active person because I spend my life in a gym; for that reason, to release stress, but, of course, I keep working. I leave my job, but I keep working at home”; “sometimes and reluctantly, but I do everything myself” (Yohana)1

“I had periods when I had to work; I had a partner and um... I also tried to study, so I had to drop out of school because I can't do all the little things from 6 to 9 at night; I don't have enough time to do them all”; “Men come to be attended to.” (Carolina)

“We were 4 brothers with a machista upbringing. … but I wipe, I wash, etc.” (Amabilis)

Measures to reconcile work and family responsibilities help prevent conflicts and avoid consequences for the worker’s health or their exclusion from employment. Thus, in Convention 156 on Equal Opportunities and Equal Treatment for Men and Women Workers: Workers with Family Responsibilities (14), the States Parties recognize that, to achieve full equality between men and women, it is necessary to modify the traditional role of both men and women in society and in the family.

Gender relations

Conflict resolution is an important contribution to every relationship. Although there are physical differences between men and women, there must also be recognition of different ways of thinking, communicating, and acting with the same purpose: harmony and respect, as expressed by the male and female prevention delegates:

“There must be respect and collaboration between men and women” (Marlene)

“Everyone must contribute to solving the problems” (Freddy)

Gender and Occupational Health:

The introduction of the gender perspective in occupational safety and health implies, as Lamas (15) cites, “…recognizing that sexual difference is distinct from the attributions, ideas, representations, and social prescriptions that are constructed taking that sexual difference as a reference. It is evident that this difference constitutes the beginning of the complements that society needs; therefore, Dejours, cited by Acevedo (5), emphasizes the importance of gender relations at work as a component interacting with objective factors (the reality of the task) and subjective aspects (the reality of the unconscious). From the participants’ discourse, the following subcategories emerged.

Gender bias at work

Biological differences between men and women will always exist, but they do not limit the skills and abilities of the individual as such, nor the real possibilities of carrying out any work activity, since there are tools and mechanisms that make it possible to complement that realization. This is how the male and female prevention delegates express it:

“Well, they don’t see a woman in that field (Administrator) as able to defend herself in those environments, and so then, in that company they always hired men.” The reality is different. “A woman is more detail-oriented…. She doesn’t leave loose ends” (Carolina)

“There are only two women in the office, and in the operator [role], all are men” (Yohana)

“At the plant, there are only men… There are no women at the plant, only in administration” (Amabilis)

“There are seven men in operations and three in administration” (Yampier)

“There are no women in my department... I work in the warehouse” (Marlene)

Perception of differentiated occupational risks: What do we protect ourselves from?

Not knowing or knowing little has the same impact: both affect the health of female and male prevention delegates. When workloads and the risks to which they are exposed—such as physical, chemical, ergonomic, and psychosocial risks—are evaluated, these risks may be as dangerous as those from which they are excluded by underestimating or overestimating them, resulting in expressions such as the following:

“…because of my height, they have told me: don’t climb on the chair when fixing the bulletin board... I can be at risk when I plug in the computers because I unplug them every day; they make sparks, they tell me…” (Yohana).

“A culture of prevention and gender equality has been developed thanks to the new laws” (Carolina)

“…among the most important would be psychosocial risk, ... Another would also be commuting risk, but it would not be so important, as it is not very risky in their company because they have assigned transportation” (Freddy)

“...It has been useful to me for facing risk situations, the use of machinery, for example, the hammer mill, since it did not have a belt guard ... he was almost hit by the mill belt ... an accident is avoided” (Yampier)

Virilization of risks

Productive work is considered a matter of men, of the public domains that entail physical effort, challenges, courage, and aggressiveness—characteristics culturally identified with masculinity—but society continues to categorize men by strength and women by docility and weakness; thus, we find expressions such as:

“Women can indeed work here, ... but they have not come to look for work (charcoal maker)... because both women and men can do it; there is no strength, we do not lift weights, we do not do anything, what is needed there is skill, knowledge, and mentality; both women and men have it” (Amabilis)

“...or that she did not feel capable of handling it.... You know that being an administrator or administration manager in a company implies taking the lead...” (Carolina)

At present, for women, the very fact of going to work already entails a challenge: breaking with the rule of the male figure who provides, representations that have been social labels of roles in highly differentiated spheres (home and work), with a multiplicity of physical, emotional, and psychological demands.

Occupational Health and Safety Program

According to the Technical Standard of the Safety and Health Program (NT-01-2008)(16), this is a tool that enables the description of work processes, whether production or service; the identification and assessment of risks and hazardous processes; and work plans to address existing risks and hazardous processes. In the in-depth examination of the elements of Participation - Application that safeguard the exercise of the powers and attributions of the delegate and the female delegate for prevention, the participants’ discourses evidenced that in their workplaces these elements had not been constructed, while others stated that they were in the process of construction.

Female and Male Prevention Delegates: Knowledge about Powers and Attributions

In the discourse of the Prevention Delegates, there is evidence of a strong weakness in the knowledge of their powers and attributions, despite the fact that the Organic Law on Prevention, Working Conditions and Environment (LOPCYMAT)(17), which was promulgated in 1986, and with the accentuated State policies of the Government of President Hugo Chávez, has been able to promote progress in human, social and labour matters, since May 2002. Subsequently, the new law was amended and published in Official Gazette No. 38.236 of 26 July 2005, which introduced important changes such as: inclusion as occupational accidents those that occur on the way to work and the applicability to the services of residential workers, and one of the main axes is: election of Prevention Delegates.

The activities and decisions that may be carried out in matters of occupational risk prevention are achieved through the exercise of this right; for it to be effective, it must be channeled through Prevention Delegates, as a collective right of all workers; it is a right, not an obligation, to be so. It emerges from the information provided by the female prevention delegates regarding their experiences in the exercise that they do not possess knowledge of the powers and their attributions; a delegate was doubtful when asked the question, and the others express themselves as follows:

“I have been a delegate for a year, everything is handled perfectly.” (Yohana)

“I have been a delegate for 2 years,... well, excellent, because when the voting took place, ..., we were 4 people, among whom there were 4 men and a woman—me. And despite everything, I was the person they voted for; they did not vote for the men.” (Marlene)

“...I have been a delegate for 8 months; as this is recent, we are just starting out in what the role of delegate is going to be, preparing ourselves according to the courses that the delegate training is coordinating for us, and yet, yes, I see myself at a relatively good beginning for what this role is going to be” (Carolina)

On the other hand, the prevention delegates described themselves as somewhat more informed and aware of the task that their colleagues assigned to them upon being elected:

“...I have been a delegate for 3 months, and well, so far it has been little because of the time I have” (Freddy).

“I have been a delegate for 8 years; I have repeated... I would like all workers to have some responsibility or ... knowledge of what prevention delegates are and what Inpsasel regulations are, because that way they know more calmly how to carry out their work, ..., how to carry out production in a safe way, and how to avoid unsafe conditions...” (Amabilis)

“I have approximately 2 and a half years as a delegate... we are creating and organizing another committee because the employer delegate retired...” (Yampier).

“I have 8 years as a prevention delegate... they have been good, trying to balance everything for the benefit of the worker, prevent accidents, and hold talks with workers to maintain harmony in the work environment” (Carlos).

Gender perspective training: an unfinished process

A gender-sensitive approach recognizes that, because men and women perform different work, play different roles in society, and have different expectations and responsibilities, women and men may be exposed to physical and psychological risks that in certain cases require different control and prevention measures. This approach also improves understanding of how the gender-based division of labor, biological differences, employment patterns, social roles, and social structures together contribute to gender-specific occupational risks.

For occupational safety and health policies and strategies to be effective for both women and men, this dimension must be taken into account, and such policies must be based on more detailed information on the relationship between occupational health and gender roles.

Knowledge of the Gender Perspective in Occupational Health and Safety

Female and male prevention delegates are the protagonists of social changes in the field of occupational safety and health, and the search for gender balance and equality lies in their knowledge; therefore, it arises as an emerging category to which they respond as follows:

“I think that the gender perspective is the equality of men and women at work” (Emilia)

“The gender perspective refers to equality between men and women” (Yohana)

“...does not understand what gender perspective is” (Marlene)

“I think it is gender equality, that is, that every man and every woman can perform any type of function regardless of whether they are a man or a woman” (Freddy)

“...I have heard the gender perspective in courses and on social media” (Amabilis)

“I had not heard the term gender perspective” (Yampier)

“I do not know about gender perspective” (Carlos)

“...I have heard very little, right... the little I have read and seen on television on the occasion of Women's Day...” (Carolina)

Based on the informants' testimonies, it became evident that there is a historical lack of awareness of the achievements women have made regarding the recognition of their rights, the legislation that has been enacted, and the mechanisms to enforce them.

Programs with gender content as a tool

This arises from the researcher's intention to learn about the interviewees' assessment regarding the incorporation of a gender perspective into the training they receive at their workplaces, yielding the following:

“...we must open up meaning for men so that they help us” (Emilia)

“The gender perspective must be incorporated into training for a change in the employer's awareness... with this we are also going to complement that part where there are many failures in our country, ah that we are still in diapers with respect to this issue” (Carolina)

“Well, no, I think that is already a mindset... Men and women have the same capacity to perform at work” (Freddy)

“The gender perspective is a tool for respect and trust towards workers without distinction” (Yampier)

“Women can perform in a job better than a man … I am a feminist... of course, discrimination per se based on the so-called weaker sex would be greatly avoided, which is supposedly what women are called, and that should not be the case; it would be in a positive way.” (Carlos)

“...of course yes, there is no question about it, there is no discussion, ... because a male worker or a female worker, with a gender perspective, in a company, as long as a relationship exists, communication between them, as long as equality exists, they are calm, ... both in the family, at home and at work, and I think it must exist at all levels... (..)” (Amabilis)

The incorporation of a gender perspective into occupational health and safety training for prevention delegates can achieve the reconciliation of work, personal life, and family if it is addressed at all levels as a response to a new social reality and to the incorporation of women into the workforce. Therefore, it is necessary to address this issue in compliance with the regulations and legislative reforms enacted for this purpose.