Journal of Commerce | Don Procter | October 29, 2025
Personal protective equipment in the trades has historically been made with men in mind, but a recent event in Vancouver showcased several PPE suppliers that carry lines designed specifically for women.
For many tradeswomen attending the event it was a surprise.
“After all these years in the trades, it feels like someone is finally listening to us,” says Lisa Scott, catalyst apprenticeship promotion and progression with the Construction Foundation of B.C. (CFBC), one of the hosts of the Women’s PPE Showcase.
Scott was a Red Seal electrician working in the field for more than two decades before hiring on with the CFBC last year. Ill-fitting PPE was part of her work experience in the field.
According to a 2024 report by the BC Trades Equity Society and Innovating Canada, more than 80 per cent of tradeswomen surveyed in British Columbia reported experiencing one or more problems with their PPE. Complaints included poor fit, discomfort and safety concerns.
“Your PPE shouldn’t create a hazard,” says Scott.
“I was really impressed by some of the gear at the event,” she says, noting one of the Hi-Vis jackets at the show fit her arms and torso to a tee.
Men’s gloves, respirators and work boots are examples of problem fits for many women.
Fire-resistant or fireproof coveralls, required under certain working conditions, and fall protection safety harnesses are also problematic because of body differences (chest, hips, thighs and leg length) between men and women, she says.
While some companies make fall protection safety harnesses for women, not all employers carry them, possibly because they don’t know where to source them, she says.
Sticker shock can also be a factor in an employer’s decisions to not offer women’s PPE.
While historically the price of women’s PPE has been “drastically higher” than men’s, costs are coming down and more suppliers are providing “competitively priced” women’s products, says Tammy Holmgren, general manager of Spotless Uniform, an industrial laundry facility specializing in providing an inventory of cleaned workwear for rent.
The women’s PPE event showcased a number of women’s lines of clothing, from fire-resistant coveralls to gloves, Hi-Vis vests and ARC-rated jackets for electrical work. Spotless Uniform was one of the organizers.
“The suppliers who I am working with are very eager to get feedback from women on the ground using their products daily. We are compiling everyone’s responses to the sizes they tried on.”
Holmgren says after attending two meetup events for tradeswomen in B.C. over the past year she realized how frustrating PPE was for workers.
“We didn’t carry a women’s line specifically because it wasn’t something employers had been requesting.”
Holmgren then reached out to suppliers about women’s lines. Frustrated that none of the PPE fit her, she visited three of Spotless Uniform’s suppliers in northern Alberta this spring that had designed clothing such as fire resistant coveralls specifically for women. Those companies brought their lines to the event earlier in October.
Scott says while the best PPE source for some women has been through social media outlets where women advertise equipment they don’t need anymore, she is optimistic the industry is changing and more employers and suppliers are realizing that offering women’s PPE can pay off.
The women’s PPE event was hosted in October in Vancouver by the CFBC with the BC Trades Equity Society, Western JETS-WIRED (Western Joint Electrical Training Society – Women’s Interconnection and Retention in Electrical Disciplines), BC Centre for Women in the Trades and Spotless Uniform.
“I think we’ll definitely try to do more events like this to create more conversation that pushes industry in a better way,” says Scott.