The Rise of Women in Blue Collar Industries: How to Outfit Your New Workforce

The blue-collar workforce has traditionally been male-dominated, but that demographic is changing rapidly. Women will play an increasingly important role in blue-collar industries. The number of women working in transportation, material moving, and warehouses jumped by forty-three percent between 2000 and 2018, with 23 percent more women working construction jobs over the same time period.

Demands on the labor market partially account for these changes: with the majority of the nation’s truckers approaching retirement, for instance, companies are discovering they can’t fill positions with men alone. And it’s not like women can’t do blue-collar jobs as well as men--a fact they prove every day.

Increasing numbers of women in blue-collar jobs present some problems when outfitting your workforce. Blue-collar workplace clothing manufacturers tend to focus more on men’s garments than women’s. This can lead to difficulty in creating a consistent work uniform for employees, and make it challenging to find blue-collar safety clothing and equipment designed with women in mind.

 Unisex Uniform Solutions

Outfitting women in blue-collar jobs in clothing designed for men rarely looks good: instead, you’ll have an employee wearing clothes that are too restrictive in some areas and too loose in others. At best, she’ll feel uncomfortable. At worst, ill-fitting clothes can snag on materials and equipment, creating safety hazards.

Unisex clothing is popular choices for retail work uniforms, and likely to become more of an option for blue-collar jobs as the percentage of female employees increases. Here’s some possible unisex clothing that could be incorporated into your work uniforms:

• The Edwards Garment Apron Vest is perfect for hardware and warehouse settings.
• For employees who work in cold conditions such as refrigerated warehouses, the unisex Thermal Bonded Sherpa Sweatshirt by Charles River provides a warm fleece lining, sherpa-lining hood, and pouch-like pockets.
• For warmer temperatures, the Performance Poly Tee is a smart, breathable addition to your unisex work wardrobe and provides moisture wicking properties.

• The Ultra-Cool Mesh Vest with Pockets by ML Kishigo, which offers ANSI/ISEA Class 2 visibility with 2-inch wide silver reflective material.
• OccuNomix offers a 5-Part Break-Away Two Tone "X" Back Mesh Vest that’s suitable for use by both men and women, with 2-inch silver reflective tape and contrasting trim.