Why PPE Doesn't Fit Women in the Trades, and What the Data Says

Half of Canadian women who wear PPE at work say it does not fit properly, according to a 2022 CSA Group survey of nearly 3,000 women. Most protective gear, safety boots included, is designed around men's bodies and scaled down. Women's feet are not scaled-down men's feet, so a small men's boot is not a women's boot.

Half of women say their PPE does not fit, and the fallout is measurable

The clearest Canadian data comes from the CSA Group research report "Canadian Women's Experiences with Personal Protective Equipment in the Workplace", published in 2022. It surveyed nearly 3,000 women who use PPE in their daily jobs; the full report analyzed 2,752 usable responses from a survey run in January and February 2022.

The top three complaints were about fit, comfort and choice. Fifty percent of respondents said their PPE does not fit properly, 43 percent said it is uncomfortable to wear, and 35 percent said the selection of women-specific PPE is inadequate.

The consequences follow. Fifty-eight percent use PPE that is the wrong size at least some of the time, 38 percent use a workaround to make it fit, and 28 percent do not wear all of the PPE required at work because of fit problems. Nearly 40 percent reported an injury or incident they linked to their PPE.

The workarounds are familiar on any site: rubber bands, safety pins and duct tape used to shorten fall-arrest gear, secure gloves, shorten sleeves and keep pant legs from causing trips. Women are also paying out of pocket for PPE that fits better or is designed for them. These figures cover PPE as a whole, not footwear alone, but a boot that slips at the heel or pinches at the ball sits squarely in the "wrong size" and "workaround" categories.

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) says the same in its fact sheet on PPE body type and gender considerations: "Simply shrinking or enlarging the size of the PPE does not consider the physiological differences between people." Modifying PPE to make it fit, it notes, can reduce its effectiveness.

Women are about 7 percent of trades employment, and the gear still assumes a man

The underlying problem is a numbers problem. Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey table Labour force characteristics by occupation, annual (14-10-0416-01) puts women's employment in "trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations" at about 230,000 in 2025, out of roughly 3.13 million, or about 7.3 percent. In "general trades" it is about 7.9 percent, and in "technical trades and transportation officers and controllers" about 4.2 percent. Across all occupations, women are about 47 percent of employment.

So on most sites women are a small minority, and the PPE catalogue reflects the majority. The CSA Group report found that women are "not merely scaled-down versions of men" and that PPE designed from men's proportions "cannot be simply scaled down linearly to fit women." It also found that Canadian regulations do not consistently require PPE to provide both appropriate protection and a proper fit. A supplier who stocks men's safety boots from size 7 up has, on paper, covered a woman who measures a men's 7. In practice, that boot was shaped on a men's last.

Why a men's boot in a small size is not a women's boot

The reason is foot shape, not foot length. Three peer-reviewed studies that measured men's and women's feet directly reach the same conclusion: compare a man and a woman with the same foot length, and the shapes differ in ways that matter for a boot.

Wunderlich and Cavanagh (2001), in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, found that men have longer and broader feet than women for a given stature, and that after normalizing every measurement to foot length, men and women still differed significantly in four foot shape variables, five ankle variables and two calf variables. Female feet "are not simply scaled-down versions of male feet," they wrote, and differ "particularly at the arch, the lateral side of the foot, the first toe, and the ball of the foot."

Luo and colleagues (2009), in the Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association, scanned and cast the feet of 51 women and 39 men. The men's feet were wider at the ball, instep and heel relative to heel-to-ball length; the women's were higher at the toes, instep and ankle bones. Female feet, they concluded, are "relatively narrower but higher," and "not algebraically scaled, smaller versions of male feet, as is often assumed."

Krauss and colleagues (2008), in Ergonomics, 3D-scanned 847 feet. Within the 250 to 270 mm foot length range, male feet were wider and higher by 1.3 to 5.9 mm on average. Averaged across all sizes as a percentage of foot length, the differences were small, an honest caveat. But when a woman is handed a men's size 7, the same-length comparison is the one that matters, and there the difference is real. The authors recommend that shoe measurements "should be derived for each size and sex separately."

That is the "shrink it and pink it" problem. A men's last in a small size is cut for a heel, instep and ball wider than most women's feet of that length. If the boot's heel is wider than yours, no amount of lacing will hold it. If the forefoot is wider, your foot slides into the toe cap, and lacing tighter presses the laces into a higher instep. Those are the "wrong size" and "workaround" lines in the CSA Group data.

What a properly fitted women's safety boot looks like

A real women's safety boot starts with a women's last, the foot-shaped form a boot is built around. A women's last is narrower through the heel and midfoot relative to its length than a men's last, which is the difference the studies above describe. A boot built on one holds the heel without over-tightened laces and lets the forefoot sit flat instead of sliding into the toe cap.

Three things to check before you buy:

• It is sold as a women's style with its own size run, typically women's sizes 5 to 10, not a men's style starting at 7 with a conversion chart.
• The protection is the same. A women's boot certified to CSA Z195 Grade 1 carries the same green triangle and meets the same 125 J toe impact requirement as a men's boot. The CSA Grade 1 explainer covers what the mark means.
• The width matches your foot. A women's last only fixes the heel-to-forefoot proportion; width still has to be chosen.

The women's versions of the Tiger King Jasper, Hudson, Michigan, Tofino and Niagara are built on a women's last, with their own women's size run, 5 to 10, and the full range is in the CSA approved safety shoes for women collection. Of those, only Niagara is waterproof; the others are water-resistant. None is insulated, and Tiger King does not make a Chelsea, logger or lineman style, so if your job calls for one of those, you will need a different brand.

How to measure and size a women's safety boot

Measure your foot, not your old boots. Stand on a sheet of paper in your work socks, trace both feet, measure heel to longest toe in centimetres, and use the longer foot. The step-by-step method, and what a correct fit should feel like on day one, is in the work boot sizing guide.

Then apply the width rule. Every Tiger King style is built on a true extra-wide last, so the sizing differs from a standard boot:

The half-size-down rule exists because an extra-wide last has more volume than a standard-width foot needs; dropping half a size takes up that volume without shortening the boot past your toes. If you are buying another brand built on a standard last, follow that brand's chart instead.

Two checks once the boot is on: your heel should barely lift when you walk, and your toes should not touch the cap when you kneel or go down a ladder. If either fails, the boot is the wrong size or the wrong last, not something to break in. The women's CSA safety shoes buying guide walks through the rest of the decision, including which style suits which kind of work.

What to ask your employer for

Fit is a safety issue, not a comfort preference. CCOHS advises employers to "listen to the workers' concerns about fit, comfort, and other safety issues," to consider individual assessment and consultation, to offer a range of sizes and adjustable features, and to conduct a risk assessment of all new and existing PPE. Those are the words to use when you raise it.

Then find out who pays and what is required where you work. The CSA Group report's regulatory scan found that eleven Canadian jurisdictions require footwear appropriate or suitable to the hazards, nine require safety footwear to meet CSA Z195 or its guideline, and three, British Columbia, Manitoba and Yukon, place the duty to provide appropriate footwear, including safety footwear, on the worker. In Ontario, construction regulation O. Reg. 213/91 section 23 requires a toe cap resisting 125 J and a sole resisting 1.2 kN penetration. Your province decides whether you are asking for a boot or a boot allowance.

Practical requests:

• Ask for a women's style with a women's size run in the PPE catalogue, not a men's style with a conversion chart.
• Ask for your measured size in centimetres to go on your PPE record.
• If the supplier has no women's boot, ask for the allowance to buy one that meets the required CSA grade, and keep the receipt and certification label.
• Raise it through your health and safety representative or committee, so it is logged as a fit issue.

A safety manager outfitting a mixed crew will find the guide to buying CSA boots for a crew useful on the ordering side. Footwear is one piece of the problem the CSA Group documented. Harnesses, gloves and sleeves need the same attention, and no boot fixes those.

FAQ

Can I just wear a men's safety boot in a smaller size? You can, and many women do, but it is cut for a wider heel, instep and ball than most women's feet of that length. A boot built on a women's last fixes the proportion; sizing alone does not.

Are women's safety boots as protective as men's? If the boot carries the CSA Z195 Grade 1 green triangle, it has met the same 125 J toe impact requirement as a men's boot with the same mark. There is no lower grade for women's styles.

Does my employer have to pay for my safety boots? It depends on the province. The CSA Group report notes that British Columbia, Manitoba and Yukon put the duty to provide appropriate footwear on the worker. Check your provincial regulation or ask your health and safety committee.

I have wide feet. Do women's boots come wide? Not always, and a women's last on its own does not make a boot wide. Tiger King women's styles are built on a true extra-wide last, so wide feet order their measured size and standard-width feet order half a size down. Very wide feet should email support@tigerkingshoes.ca first.

What if my feet hurt even in the right size? Fit is one cause of foot pain at work, not the only one. Arch problems, medical conditions and orthotics are outside what a boot change can fix and are worth a visit to a chiropodist. The post on why new work boots hurt separates boot problems from foot problems.