Seeing women in scarves and sweaters in the office is a common sight these days. But did you know that millions of them aren’t bundling up for winter, but rather to survive the chill of overcooled workplaces? 

While central air conditioning is considered a marker of workplace comfort and technological advancement, a new study published by Nature Portfolio has unearthed a subtle but persistent form of gender inequality hidden in plain sight: the overcooling of office buildings, which disproportionately affects women’s comfort, productivity, and well-being. 

Overcooling refers to the practice of excessively air-conditioning indoor spaces, often to temperatures lower than recommended standards.

While it may seem like a minor inconvenience, the implications are far-reaching and deeply gendered. 

“Overcooling has been attributed to poorly designed or managed air-conditioning systems with thermostats that are often set below recommended comfort temperatures,” reads part of the study report. 

Not designed for women 

The study analysed 38,851 responses from occupants in 435 U.S. office buildings and found that 38 per cent of employees were dissatisfied with office temperatures.

Nearly two-thirds of those who reported dissatisfaction were women. The discomfort was most pronounced during summer, when paradoxically, indoor office temperatures are often lower than in winter. 

According to Wanjiru Kamau, a thought leader on gender and structural inequality, this research confirms what many women have long experienced but few organisations have acknowledged: office temperatures are not designed with them in mind. 

“Designing office environments without accounting for the needs of all genders is yet another way we silence women’s experiences in professional spaces,” she says. 

Available data shows that this gender gap in comfort can be traced back to the very foundation of building climate control systems.

Most air-conditioning systems are guided by thermal comfort models developed decades ago. 

These models are based on the metabolic rates of an average man in a business suit. Women, who generally have lower metabolic rates, tend to feel colder in the same environments.

Add to that the tendency to wear lighter clothing in warmer seasons, and the discomfort becomes more than understandable, as it becomes systemic. 

Moreover, the models also don’t account for the fact that women’s thermal preferences differ from men’s, especially in cooler environments.

Studies show women typically prefer temperatures 2.5°C higher than men, meaning a setting that feels comfortably brisk to a man in a full suit might feel freezing to a woman in a summer blouse. 

“Yet rather than questioning the model or adjusting building practices, the blame is often subtly shifted onto women. ‘They should dress warmer’ is a common refrain. But this ignores the larger issue: the environment itself is biased, not the people in it,” adds Kamau. 

Cold affected their performance 

The consequences of overcooling go beyond goosebumps and chilly fingers. The study found a clear correlation between thermal satisfaction and perceived productivity.

While 44 per cent of men said the office temperature enhanced their ability to work, only 31 per cent of women felt the same. 

In contrast, 42 per cent of women reported that the cold interfered with their job performance, compared to 27 per cent of men.

In a competitive workplace where performance matters, this disparity is not trivial. It affects how women concentrate, interact, and produce results, and over time, could influence career progression, satisfaction, and retention. 

“When women are consistently too cold to focus, too uncomfortable to collaborate, or too distracted to concentrate, the workplace becomes not just inequitable but inefficient,” reads part of the report. 

Although the study focused on U.S. office buildings, the trend of overcooling is not limited to the West. Across tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, office buildings increasingly mimic Western architectural and HVAC systems, even in climates where such cooling levels are unnecessary or even absurd. 

In Kenya’s urban centres, for instance, it’s not uncommon to find employees bundled in jackets and shawls while sitting in heavily air-conditioned rooms, especially in modern office blocks in Nairobi.

The irony is glaring in a country where energy costs are high and access to reliable power is inconsistent, resources are still being wasted to make indoor temperatures too cold, mostly to suit design templates from different climates and outdated comfort models. 

The demand will skyrocket 

According to Kamau, as climate change drives higher outdoor temperatures globally, the demand for indoor cooling is expected to skyrocket.

But this should not mean replicating the mistakes of the past. Instead, there is a need for a redefinition of thermal comfort standards, ones that are inclusive, flexible, and grounded in real human diversity. 

“The problem is likely to increase in the future due to growing demand for cooling in increasingly extreme climates. There is a need to rethink the approach to air-conditioning office buildings in light of this gender inequity caused by overcooling,” reads another part of the report. 

  According to Kamau, though addressing gender bias in building design may not grab headlines like pay equity or boardroom representation, it’s an important part of the broader conversation about inclusivity and workplace dignity.

The reason is that the well-being and performance of office workers rely in part on satisfactory indoor environments. After all, if half your workforce can’t feel comfortable enough to do their best work, something fundamental needs to change. 

“Temperature might not seem like a major workplace concern, but it quietly affects how people feel, think, and perform every single day. In the fight for gender equality, it’s not just about boardroom representation or pay parity, it’s also about how inclusive our work environments are in the most basic, physical ways,” Kamau says.