Women participation in the workforce has grown, have also been recognizing gender-specific aspects of occupational accidents and diseases. Agriculture, for example, remains a high risk sector for both women and men, however, many women end up working in this sector the worst performing tasks such as working with pesticides or chemical or biological agents without protection, or the hard work of cultivation or harvesting without mechanical assistance.
Occupational segregation results in exposure to health hazards and risks specific to certain occupations, and harms the sex that is most represented. In industry, the operators of factories located in export processing zones (where women are the majority) work long hours working in jobs that do not respect the ergonomic factor, often lack personal protective equipment .