Publication Date

5-2024

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Ritchie Taylor, Gretchen Macy, Lester Archer

Degree Program

Educational Leadership

Degree Type

Doctor of Education

Abstract

Limited research exists about the challenges women face working as leaders within the occupational safety and health (OSH) industry. This study aimed to help fill this gap by utilizing key informant interviews to qualitatively analyze what the perceptions of female safety leaders were within OSH related to barriers and interventions to sustain or increase the number of female safety leaders. Both convenience sampling and snowball sampling methods were utilized to recruit female safety leaders to participate in key informant interviews. In order to be eligible for inclusion in the study, participants needed to identify as female, be safety leaders currently or recently (within the last two years) employed within the OSH industry and have worked in the OSH industry for a minimum of one year.

After the completion of interviews, data were analyzed by utilizing thematic analysis. A total of six barriers were identified from the majority of key informants including: the work hours and travel required, having their authority questioned, a lack of formal education in OSH, a low number of women in the industry, their age, and a stigma related to women in OSH. Several types of interventions were also identified and broken down into themes including needed resources, types of training, and support mechanisms. The needed resources identified included those related to childcare and maternity, financial, and flexibility. In the training theme, leadership training and additional on-the-job training in occupational safety were needed. The final intervention theme included support mechanisms which related to being supported by management in the company, having a mentor to reach out to and having team members available for assistance and support.

Implications of this study include the need for women to feel support from their workplaces, not in the form of financial compensation but in policies and practices that show women are important and have the right to have a career while also living a healthy and fulfilling life. As part of the results from this study, recommendations are given to employers on how this can be best achieved. This includes the fact that workplaces need to be aware of the benefits of diversity in their companies and the ways they can change hiring practices and company policies to promote the increase in the number of female employees and leaders.

Disciplines

Education | Educational Leadership | Leadership Studies | Medicine and Health Sciences | Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene | Public Health | Social and Behavioral Sciences

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Available for download on Tuesday, April 22, 2025

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