A phenomenological study was undertaken to understand women's experience of 's experience of ' the workers compensation system. Eleven women were interviewed. They ranged in age from twenty-fi ve to sixty-fi ve years and represented diverse socio-economic and educational backgrounds. All women were from a non-indigenous background. The initial question to women was "Can you tell me what it is like to be involved in the workers' compensation system?" The narratives were analysed and interpreted using Hycner's (1985) phenomenological guidelines.'s (1985) phenomenological guidelines. 'The knowledge embedded in the interviews, expressed through core stories and themes, was essential to making women's voices visible and provide insight into 's voices visible and provide insight into ' service delivery based on women's experiences and needs. Four core themes 's experiences and needs. Four core themes ' were found: negative versus positive experiences, the workplace response and role in the process, women's experiences of payouts, and reasons why women 's experiences of payouts, and reasons why women ' may not claim workers' compensation. The women indicated that the workers compensation process was a disincentive to making a claim. WorkCover was viewed as siding with the employer, bureaucratic in nature and lacking values associated with empathy, sympathy and caring.