Just a rant, I am at work and need to vent.

Laptops and their carriers have, like the rest of the world, been designed to suit a 70kg 5' 8" male frame.

Laptops haven't been designed for men - they have been reducing in size and weight since they were first invented. If they were designed for men they would have stopped the miniaturisation process as soon as they were acceptable for men.
However, OPs company could be guilty of not taking women into account when purchasing - smaller, lighter laptops tend to be more expensive, and if they bought heavier laptops for cost reasons, that would be a feminist issue.

They've been going that way for years, and it's hardly your employers fault.

It is her employer's fault that they didn't buy lighter laptops though and that they insist on staff carrying them around.

OP, are you expected to work at home on the laptop too? I would leave it at work if not, and if you are, I would say you'll work on your home machine and transfer files on a suitable password protected device.

I bought new scales today (because I am a super cool person) so I just weighed my laptop out of curiosity piqued by this thread.

It weighs 1770g. I've no idea if that's relatively light or not compared to other laptops. But I know it's not as heavy as the bag I take to work every today that contains my make up, notebook, and lunch.

Well at least you know what to get him if you have an office Secret Santa (a copy of Invisible Women, of course!).

Carrying laptops is a feminist issue. Laptops and their carriers have, like the rest of the world, been designed to suit a 70kg 5' 8" male frame.

Women do not have a male frame yet are expected to use equipment designed for some with that frame who has 40% more or thereabouts more upper body strength to them.

This causes women problems which, as OP describes, are completely dismissed or minimised if women try to raise them.

OP, the suggestion about requesting a charging cable to keep at home is a good one. They do add extra weight. Also about requesting an OH assessment - if carrying a laptop is aggravating your existing injuries or illnesses there should be provision for you to leave it at work, or a lighter model provided if you have to take it home, or another device for you to use at home.

It's bloody annoying that women have to ask for their needs to be taken into account at every turn though.

I'm not sure that posters are being rude - you have posted this in feminism and whilst it is recognised that many things in the world are designed for men, I'm not sure that carrying a laptop is a feminist issue and it's a bit of a stretch to try and make it into one!

It seems you have some challenges with various injuries/ health problems which makes this particularly challenging for you, but that doesn't make laptop-carrying a general feminist issue and it's a bit weird to try and make it one. Perhaps speak to occupational health if you think it's a particular problem for you?

OP - your colleague is an arse. I'd have had to tell him that life isn't all about him, people are different. He sounds a joy to work with.

FWIW - I had a trolley case once. I damaged my back severely when lifting into the car. Again some people scoff at that & think I'm making it up.

In your shoes I'd be tempted to contact your boss/HR & tell them you need either more than 1 laptop or an occupational health assessment.

I completely get it, OP. It’s not the laptop, it’s the complete blindness of your colleague to an experience even slightly different to him. DP sometimes does the same; and he doesn’t even realise it. It’s just that as a white, straight, mid-30s, tall slim man, the world around us has basically been created with exactly him in mind and so he rarely comes across these barriers. To his credit, he realises this most of the time and can empathise with others’ experiences,”.

You weren’t expecting your colleague to fix your problem, you weren’t even wanting to kick off massively; you just wanted him to not completely dismiss your experiences, and then when he did, you wanted to come on here to have a little moan to like minded feminists. I don’t know why some posters are being so hostile to you.

OK he wasn't exactly brimming with empathy, but I don't think the rage and need to tell someone to fuck off is an appropriate response to:

"come off it, you are not much smaller than me."

Another derailing scenario. A female colleague of mine climbs with another colleague who is male. She says she just can't reach the next hand hold thing (technical term), he asks how come/why not? Because it's too damn far away for her arm. "I just don't understand how you can't reach it", because he can reach it.

I'm not deaf but I can empathise that certain situations make life difficult for a deaf person, sake for blind, dyslexic, wheelchair-bound people.

No I'm not comparing women to disabled people or that women are weak, nor am I suggesting that men cannot empathise, what I am saying is that the OP has expressly reiterated that the rant was about minimising her experience of something that bothers her a bit. It's not life altering to have to carry a heavy laptop around (but it could be). Sometime we just want to answer and not have to explain further or defend a response.

A boss one confided to my about his problems at home, in my work frame of mind as his assistant I set about finding a solution, he told me all he wanted to do was have someone listen for a moment, he was going through a tough time (and yes I suggested professional help as I'm not a therapist and it was not my job to be his therapist but I was his friend), maybe the OP's colleague could have just thought about it for a moment and gone "that's rough, I had no idea that the weight of a laptop could be such a daily pain in the shoulder/back".

As PPs say I hope you can escalate and get a risk assessment and/or a lighter laptop OP. Maybe this encounter and this thread will mean you won't suffer and have it result in any back issues.

Sorry, what's your solution?
To make laptops smaller / lighter? They've been going that way for years, and it's hardly your employers fault.

Well perhaps employers shouldn't introduce working conditions that compel their staff to carry an extra 2kg of weight to and from work? Like in the old days when they had desktop PCs and staff weren't expected to take their work equipment home overnight.

Deydo, I think her solution to her colleague being unsympathetic would be, I dunno, her colleague saying 'Oh dear, I didn't even think what it's like for smaller people' instead of 'come off it, it's not that bad'.

Your employer should be providing DSE (display screen equipment) assessments which include the use of laptops (both in an office environment and at home) and carrying them around. If problems are identified they need to address them and provide adjustments (eg suitable backpack, extra power cable to leave at home). If you can't resolve it with that and suffer physical symptoms, ask for a Occ Health referral.

It's no different to providing special mice to people with wrist problems, or adjustable chairs for people with back issues.

Sorry, what's your solution?
To make laptops smaller / lighter? They've been going that way for years, and it's hardly your employers fault.
To not give laptops to women / small women? Imagine the uproar!
Really think you're harsh and unreasonable calling your colleague a twat.

I refused to carry mine around as it was too heavy for me. None of my (male) colleagues had ever come across this issue before and were quite shocked that I found it too heavy. They sort of ignored the problem for a few weeks but when they realised I was deadly serious, I was bought a SurfacePro which I happily carry around in my handbag. I keep a charger at home and one at work plus have my old laptop on my desk just incase I forget my surface.

It's amazing how people just don't realise that we are all different

True. It's cost me a fortune getting my trousers shortened, I can tel you.

Have they done a risk assessment ? Was this done on, say people under 5’ 6” or who weight under 70kg or who have an injury or health condition ? Does this new rule also apply to staff with disabilities?

Because they are saying it’s now part of your job to carry this about. And take it on and off your back many times a day eg when you sit on a bus or tube. That a lot of lifting and twisting.

Did the risk assessment take account of other things you might be carrying eg power supply , paperwork, personal items like a handbag?

And of course they know ( because you have notified them in writing) that you have an injury and you are concerned that this new requirement will exacerbate it.

HeresWally.. lol

OP massive sympathy with the back problem and totes agree with you and others here about your ridiculous colleague.

(Am I imagining it or are there loads of new posters on this thread? Which is great..waves..)

Slight detail.

Ages ago there was a study on women carrying those heavy monthly magazines around, it showed how if you have a handbag on one arm and are not balanced (with a heavy magazine in the other) you can change the shape of your spine over time.

I have scoliosis so switched to a backpack and stopped wearing heels.

Laptops probably feature in Invisible Women but I haven't finished reading it yet.

So, if you forget your laptop there are no desktops to use at work now? Yes we have this in our place too, I'm lucky I have a desk top (Which I refuse to give up) and a laptop for any meetings I need to go off site for. I feel your pain, and this is going to sound sexist but as a woman I carry my normal bag, packed lunch bag (as the place I work does not have a canteen) and also my laptop bag with any papers and items I need for the meetings so I do look like a bag lady at times.

My company has heavy laptops and they are a nightmare, and they do cause shoulder/back problems and a lot of female staff say they are far too heavy.

I drive to work so I don't have to lug it around with me on my commute. I do travel a lot though, and it's too heavy to bring with me if I need to carry it, and pulley trolley bags are not helpful in busy places either.

To resolve this, I no longer bring my laptop with me when I have to travel to meetings. It probably makes me less productive but if company want to address that they can bloody well pay for a laptop that is a suitable weight to be properly portable (for a woman, not for the default reference man, men have 40% more upper body strength than women, even if a man is the same size and weight, it's not comparable. Your colleague is an idiot).

If you develop any back or shoulder problems as a result of having to carry the laptop with you, then the employer is liable for that injury.