Why Fieldwork Needs a Feminist Shift
International Women's Day always pulls up the stuff people don't really talk about. Not the glossy panel talks, the real, on-the-ground bits. Like when a big retailer launched a "women's workwear" range and most of it was bright pink high-vis. Pink. For construction sites. For ecological surveys. For standing next to diggers and fencing off habitats. On paper, it looked like progress. In reality, it felt like someone in an office guessed what women might like without asking the women actually doing the job. We didn't need it to be cute. We needed it to fit properly, meet safety regs, last in bad weather and not scream novelty.
Field ecology strips things back to basics. You're outside for hours. There's no toilet. You pee behind a hedge and carry on. Now add being on your period to that equation. Cramps. Blood. No facilities. No bin. Trying to discreetly change a pad while working alongside a male colleague who probably hasn't considered that this is even a factor. Planning your day around whether there's cover, whether you can get back to the van, whether you've packed enough supplies. It's not dramatic, it's just real. And it's rarely factored into kit design, scheduling or site planning.
The issue was never the colour of the high-vis. It's the lack of thought. Real inclusion is practical. For instance it can be hard for me to find waders or other workwear that fits well, stuff is often made for men and when they do make womens stuff it is often very straight legged. With no room for my Greek hips. True inclusion considers bodies, biology and the lived reality of women doing the work not stereotypes wrapped up as empowerment. and yes… I did buy an item or two from the pink range, cos I do love pink is the truth!
