International Women’s Day (IWD) is an important date on the calendar. March 8 shines a spotlight on women’s achievements and addresses the barriers that perpetuate gender inequality.
Ergolink is a keen supporter of International Women’s Day. Jeanne Rogers, Ergolink's Managing Director, believes women everywhere should have the same opportunities as men. Globally, women only hold two of every 10 degrees in STEM including engineering, science, IT and communication technology jobs. But it’s known that teams that include at least one woman will be economically more valuable and achieve higher impact than a men-only team.
Cracking the Code
The theme for the 2023 IWD is Cracking the Code: Innovation for a gender-equal future. Innovation is a driver of change; it can transform lives and break down barriers to gain equality. A project that has achieved all this is chair manufacturer Gregory’s PROJECT W. A group of female employees at Gregory wanted to design an ergonomic office chair that met the needs of women.
Despite growing participation rates of women in the workforce over the past 20 years, the office chair design hasn’t changed to reflect this. Most female workers are considered smaller than average and the only chairs suited to their needs are petite chairs. This is when Gregory’s female employees stepped in.
Dubbed PROJECT W, the team included female employees with engineering, marketing, product assembly, science and procurement backgrounds.
What Women Want in an Office Chair
Many women under the height of 5 foot 5 inches find it difficult to adjust an office chair to sit comfortably and take advantage of its ergonomic benefits. Their feet may not sit comfortably flat on the ground or the seat pan is too long so there is no gap behind their knees. Some women struggle to adjust the chair to support their lower back needs, while others don’t find the foam seat comfortable.
After much research, the Project W team designed a chair to address all of these issues and more. The Project W chair is designed for people that are between 156-191 cm tall and has a weight capacity of 135kg. The chair is suitable for sitting up to eight hours per day.
A Chair with the Right Support
The research showed that some women experience coccyx issues after having children. Sitting all day at work can cause pain and discomfort. Patented dual-density foam in the seat provides coccyx relief while sitting. Better adjustable lumbar support makes sitting more comfortable. The slimmer, sculpted back of the chair supports the thoracic spine and under the shoulder blades to reduce neck strain by up to 12%. Better lumbar support and the chair’s height support the natural S-curve posture of the spine and can help relieve lower back issues.
Circulation Assistance
The Project W chair considers that women on average have shorter legs than men. Therefore, the depth of the seat needs to be 70-80 mm shorter than the average ergonomic chair. A steep waterfall slope at the front of the seat ensures circulation isn’t cut off for users with shorter legs.
Chair Aesthetics
Women don’t just want a chair that’s ergonomic and suited to their body shape. They also want a chair that is good to look at and suits their surroundings. The chair fabric is available in multiple colours including blue, green, grey and brown. The fabric is stain protected but the chair back is a removable cover that can be washed. The base of the chair is polished aluminium and the high quality castors protect flooring better than other chairs.
Choose The Chair For You
It’s important that we use ergonomically designed chairs that suit the needs of our body shape and the work we do. For too long, the standard office chair hasn’t been right for 25% of women because the chair is too tall or the seat pan is too deep.
Choose a chair that suits you and you’ll enjoy a safer, more comfortable working environment. The Project W Ergonomic office chair will also see you through many years of International Women’s Days. For more information or to compare a range of chairs, visit our showroom, call Ergolink on (08) 9240 7066 or contact us online.