Integration of sex and gender in interventions by students in ergonomics

• DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2022.2048898
• Publication Date: 2022-03-02T10:00:32Z
• Authors: Marie Laberge; Martin Chadoin; Marion Inigo; Karen Messing; Mélanie Lefrançois; Hélène Sultan-Taïeb; Céline Chatigny; Jessica Riel; Jena Webb; Myriam Fillion; Cathy Vaillancourt; Marie Bellemare
• Keywords: Male; 791; Ergonomics intervention; training; Inservice Training; 05 social sciences; [SCCO] Cognitive science; [SCCO]Cognitive science; Sex and gender integration; Training; Humans; Female; 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences; Ergonomics; sex and gender integration; obstacles to s/g integration; Workplace; Students; Obstacles to s/g integration

This article aims to analyse the integration of sex and gender (s/g) by ergonomics students during their internship at the master's degree level, following training sessions on s/g issues in the workplace. This exploratory research used a descriptive mixed-methods design, encompassing evaluation of students' intention to use the content from the training (n = 13 students), and a multiple case study (n = 5 ergonomics interventions). The results show that while students found the training relevant, they only minimally integrated s/g in their interventions and when they did, it was primarily from an anthropometric and physiological perspective. In addition to discussing the training format limitations, the article discusses barriers to this integration: combining learning about s/g issues with learning about activity analysis is challenging; employers' and workers' organisations may be reluctant to approach s/g issues; and it is difficult for an ergonomist to integrate these issues when the employer's request does not specify it.Practitioner summary: This article aims to analyse the integration of s/g by ergonomics students during their internships. Findings show that they only minimally considered s/g. The discussion examines s/g training, organisational obstacles to inclusion of s/g during interventions, and how ergonomists can consider s/g in their practice.