{"id":31393,"date":"2025-07-18T06:53:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T13:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/why-a-women-owned-firm-developed-ppe-for-women\/"},"modified":"2025-07-18T06:53:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T13:53:05","slug":"why-a-women-owned-firm-developed-ppe-for-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/why-a-women-owned-firm-developed-ppe-for-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Why a women-owned firm developed PPE for women"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech\">\n    <button class=\"text-to-speech__button button\"><br \/>\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"text-to-speech__button__icon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/static\/img\/play.svg?500116090725\" alt=\"-\"><br \/>\n        Listen to the article<br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-to-speech__button__audio-length\">4 min<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls\">\n        <audio controls=\"\" class=\"js-text-to-speech\" preload=\"none\"><source src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dmgi9movl\/video\/upload\/q_1\/v1752772248\/news\/text_to_speech\/women-ppe-construction-safety-gear_mhn50f.wav\" type=\"audio\/mp3\"><\/source><\/audio><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls__text\">\n            This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\">feedback<\/a>.\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Dr. Hilary Gallin was working as an anesthesiologist and wearing protective goggles for a medical procedure that required the use of a laser, which created a hazard. The protective goggles slipped off her face, and the laser briefly blinded her in one eye, she said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cAnd so I went to the emergency room and luckily I&#8217;m okay,\u201d Gallin said. \u201cBut what then happened was it took me another several months to get goggles that fit me. They just weren&#8217;t available for women. They were too heavy. Nothing was really made for women.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>She took the problem to her friend, Kaitlin McCarthy, founder and CEO of Boston-based real estate developer Ionic Development Company. The pair knew each other through Harvard Business School.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>McCarthy related to Gallin\u2019s complaints.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cEver since my first day on a jobsite, I have felt like the PPE was very obviously not meant for me,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cThe vest was 10 sizes too big, the boots are awkward, the hats are clunky.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The two of them realized that <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/dangers-of-lack-proper-ppe-safety-equipment-for-women-construction\/644379\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>PPE designed for men<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> wasn\u2019t just an issue of safety, but one of confidence and pride at work.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>As a result, in May, the pair launched ARX, a personal protective equipment brand designed for women. For now, the site sells one product: a vest retailing for $55. But the founders have plans to expand.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cWe want to be your one-stop shop and your trusted resource for head-to-toe PPE for women,\u201d Gallin said. \u201cThat can mean everything from goggles and gloves and a vest to our next product \u2014 actually a long sleeved kind of athleisure, like an athletic-style shirt for the construction site.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><strong><span><span>The need to fit in<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The founders tapped into their own experiences with PPE and also interviewed other women to find their gripes and figure out what they wanted from their gear.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>For one, their research reinforced that women\u2019s PPE shouldn\u2019t merely be smaller sizes, as the proportions of frames and shoulders are different for most women. But perhaps most importantly, they knew visually they did not want their gear to stand out. At least, not in the wrong way.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cThe women in our focus groups just wanted to look like everybody else,\u201d McCarthy said, referring to a common strategy for PPE to appeal to women dubbed \u201cshrink it and pink it.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cThey don&#8217;t want it to be pink. We had played around with different design ideas for the stripes and the reflective tape. And they just wanted to look like everybody else,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>But beyond appearance, there\u2019s also the need for utility. That meant putting pockets in the \u201cright\u201d places, the founders said, and even providing a discrete spot near the shoulder closed by a zipper that they call \u201cthe tampon pocket.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cOne of the problems that we heard was people would take stuff out of their pockets and a tampon would fall out,\u201d McCarthy said. The location of the pockets on the vest is designed for the wearer to get the most use out of storage while also maintaining privacy.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><strong><span><span>Prioritizing PPE<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>In January, a <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/osha-ppe-standard-construction-compliance\/737415\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>new OSHA rule went into effect<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> that requires contractors to provide properly fitting PPE to their workers \u2014 aligning construction with a rule already in place for general industry.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>As a result, the ARX founders think they timed the release of their firm\u2019s line of gear well. McCarthy said they have seen a response from companies and individuals alike, as women in the trades often take responsibility for finding their own gear.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Gallin said the best response has been from safety managers or superintendents excited to provide their workers with better PPE.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cThey said, \u2018You know, I felt really disingenuous doing my job, handing something to a new employee that didn&#8217;t fit as well as it should. And saying, okay, well this should protect you,\u2019\u201d Gallin said. \u201cAnd so it&#8217;s been interesting to kind of have the conversation both with the female user, but also a safety manager who says, \u2018I now feel better because there is something that I can stand by and give to my employee.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/women-ppe-construction-safety-gear\/753356\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">This article was originally posted at Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Listen to the article 4 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Dr. &#8230; <a title=\"Why a women-owned firm developed PPE for women\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/why-a-women-owned-firm-developed-ppe-for-women\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Why a women-owned firm developed PPE for women\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[457],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-dive","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31393\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}