Women and heat stress: A silent risk in the climate-exposed workforce

Women and heat stress: A silent risk in the climate-exposed workforce As global temperatures rise, sex-specific vulnerabilities to extreme heat are emerging as a critical blind spot in occupational health policy. Luana Main and Lilia Convit explain. The world of work is heating up, literally. As global temperatures rise, extreme heat is rapidly becoming one of the most pressing challenges for workers worldwide. From agriculture to healthcare, millions of workers are increasingly exposed to dangerous temperatures, (1) a hazard that threatens both health and productivity. (2-4) Yet one dimension remains largely overlooked: the growing evidence that women face unique physiological and occupational vulnerabilities to heat stress.