Pregnancy also changes the shape of a woman’s body, and few male garments would stretch over a 7 or 8-month baby bump. Other diversity scenarios that need to be examined include those of different religions. Employees may need to keep their arms and legs covered for modesty reasons. Finally, disabled workers may also have special requirements from their safety clothing.

All these groups of people should be taken into account when planning and choosing workwear and uniforms, if a company really wants to live the ethos of an inclusive culture.

Designed to make life safer and more comfortable for pregnant women at work, our partner Leo Workwear have introduced the first stocked maternity garments conforming to high visibility standard ISO 20471. This standard covers the requirements for the base fabric colour, minimum areas for reflectivity, and placement of tape. Features include an elasticated over-bump band and waist adjustment on the cargo trousers and elasticated side seams on the polo shirts, so the garments can be worn throughout the wearer’s pregnancy

People who feel uncomfortable or embarrassed about what they are wearing are less likely to perform well, or be engaged with their company. They may even feel discriminated against, particularly if apparently little or no effort has been made by their employer to cater for their needs. We work with suppliers who consider this as a key part of their offer. (This includes the extensive work that Mascot have done into understanding women’s sizes and creating a new size regime to reflect this in their recently launched accelerate range – creating a diamond and pearl range of sizes).