Occupational Health and Safety in a Vocational Training Program: How Gender Impacts Teachers' Strategies and Power Relationships

In Quebec (Canada), the Work-Oriented Training Path, a work-study program, prepares students who are having difficulty at school for the job market. Occupational health and safety is an important part of their training. This article aims to analyze the impact of gender on the interpersonal dynamics among teachers, trainees, and key actors from the businesses involved. This article also looks at the influence of gender on teachers' strategies and capacity to act regarding occupational health and safety. Using a work activity analysis lens, a multiple case-study analysis of teachers' work activity was carried out. The findings show that gendered social relationships create a specific supervisory context that influences occupational health and safety training. Solutions aimed at reducing the negative impact of gender-associated prejudice on work injury prevention include training for teachers, attention to work organization at the schools, and the creation of cohesive teachers' work teams.Résumé