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The most risky sectors, causing the most common injuries or the occupational diseases most often reported. The INAIL presents the statistics on the incidence rate at work for female labour in 2013.
The most risky sectors for women
Service activities account for 84% of all injuries reported by women (versus 46% for men), while 12% of injuries occur in industry (46% for men) and 4% in agriculture (8% for men).
Leading cause of injury: falls
For female personnel, falls are the leading cause of injuries (33% of all cases compensated), followed by the loss of control of machines and tools (20%). While the hand is the main region of accident-related injuries compensated by the INAIL, this proportion is lower for women than for men (20% of cases versus 28.5%). For women, the other main injury regions are more significantly represented: the spinal column (14% versus 10%), the ankle (11% versus 7%) and the knee (10% versus 8%).
The age group most affected: age 35-49
It is women aged 35-49 who are most often the victims of accidents: with 88,791 cases, they account for 43% of the total number of female accidents reported in 2013, while also accounting for the largest number of fatal accidents (32).
13% of female accident victims are foreigners.
In 2013, 26,799 accidents at work, i.e. 13% of the total, affected foreign employees: in absolute terms, those most affected were Romanians, with 5,057 cases, followed by Moroccans (1,943 cases) and Albanians (1,850 cases). Out of 69 deceased female workers, 15 (21.8%) were foreigners, coming mostly from Romania, China and Albania.
Increase in the number of occupational diseases reported
Regarding occupational diseases, in 2013 around 15,000 reports were presented by women, i.e. 29.1% of the total. This percentage is fairly similar to the proportion of accidents suffered by women (34.1%) and in line with the data for the last five years observed. But, unlike injuries which continued to follow the decreasing trend of recent years, occupational diseases did not confirm the slowdown recorded in 2012, but increased from 46,190 to 51,426 (+11.3%). During the period 2009-2013 in particular, the number of reports sent by female workers increased by 55% (compared with a 44% increase for men), from 9,635 in 2009 to 14,945 in 2013 (+8% compared with the 13,795 reports in 2012).
Clear predominance of MSDs
Osteoarticular and musculotendinous conditions, such as tendinitis, intervertebral disc conditions and the carpal tunnel syndrome, account for 63% of reports by male workers, and almost 87% for females (13,000 reports out of 15,000). The carpal tunnel syndrome, in particular, is more often reported by women than by men (3,031 versus 2,717).
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