Ruth Clowes (asker) Jan 18, 2013:

Obviously, I have a far too narrow view of what an apron can be! I reworded the original translation as follows:
I think that making it optional for disabled employees to wear aprons, and everyone working under the same rules will lead to true diversity.

Nathan Takase Jan 18, 2013:

Aprons galore. There are many possibilities. Of course, the most common may be the apron that you wear while cooking at home, but they may also be used in the food services business (cooking, processing, packaging, serving, etc.), or as protective gear like you mention. I even found a web site that talks about workers at the municipal office wearing aprons. (http://www.city.imari.saga.jp/icity/browser?ActionCode=conte...

But if you don't have further context, then it doesn't really matter that much why the aprons are being worn. The important part is that the author is discussing making them optional for handicapped employees, so I think you can just ignore the why and move on. Perhaps later in the translation more light will be shed on the details.

Ruth Clowes (asker) Jan 18, 2013:

I don't have any more context than I've given you, but these are office workers and sales reps, so I'm not sure what kind of apron would be needed here. Are we talking about protective aprons? To me, an apron is something you wear when you cook so that your clothes don't get dirty. It could also conceivably be needed in manual jobs as protective clothing. So my problem is why does an office worker or sales rep potentially need one? I just thought I might be missing a deeper meaning of wearing an apron, but maybe I'm not missing anything, and it really does mean exactly what it seems to say.