“Cities are supposed to be built for all of us; men women, and children. Yet, they aren’t built by all of us. Most cities, if not all of them, are designed and built by men. But what would a city look like if it was designed by women?”
Women have always worked. They have worked unpaid, underpaid, underappreciated, and invisibly, but they have always worked. [Yet] the modern workplace does not work for women.
― Caroline Criado-Pérez, Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men
About The Project
For my fourth-year capstone project, I decided to look into male-dominated occupations and how they provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for their female workers. Majority of companies supply their female workers with a male small or what they classify has unisex. I started by asking myself how many people have been affected while on the job and how can I help reduce injuries by enhancing fit and performance. Currently, the vest’s our complied in two parts this includes a flexible durable garment made with Kevlar and a hard plate that get inserted within the vest. “Hard plate armour available for police officers fits female bodies in such a way that extra space is exposed at the chest as breast tissue pushes the flat plate away.” This causes back and spinal pains as well as “exposes vital organs and increases the possibility of a fatal shot.” With more women joining the police force it is time for a change and the need for a proper body armour designed for the female’s body.
Research Question
To research the comparison between females’ body size and the size of body armour, in order to find the proper fit based on the anthropometric form and the anatomy of female organs in the upper torso enhancing the performance of female police officers.