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A Manager's Handbook on Women in Firefighting

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A Manager's Handbook on Women in Firefighting U.S. Fire Administration Many Faces, One Purpose A Manager’s Handbook on Women in Firefighting FA-196/September 1999 Homeland Security DISCLAIMER This publication was prepared for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) under contract No. EME-5-4651. Points of view or opinions expressed in this document do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the U.S. Fire Administration. U.S. Fire Administration Many Faces, One Purpose A Manager’s Handbook on Women in Firefighting FA-196/September 1999 Prepared by: Women in the Fire Service Homeland P.O. Box 5446 Madison, Wisconsin 53705 Security 608/233-4768 608/233-4879 fax Researchers & writers: Brenda Berkman Teresa M. Floren Linda F. Willing With assistance from: Debra H. Amesqua Kim Delgaudio Carol Pranka Freda Bailey-Murray Patricia Doler Andrea Walter Joette Borzik Julia Luckey Grace Yamane U.S. Fire Administration Mission Statement As an entity of the Department of Homeland Security, the mission of the USFA is to reduce life and economic losses due to fire and related emergencies, through leadership, advocacy, coordination, and support. We serve the Nation independently, in coordination with other Federal agencies, and in partnership with fire protection and emergency service communities. With a commitment to excellence, we provide public education, training, technology, and data initiatives. Homeland Security Introduction When an organization moves away from a generations-long tradition of being all-male toward a future that includes men and women equally, a significant change takes place. Change can be upsetting and threatening to those who are used to, and invested in, the way things “have always been.” Fire may know no gender, but people do, and the fire chief of the 1990’s spends more time managing people than controlling fire. Increasing numbers of women are becoming firefighters and fire officers, entering and advancing in a field that is still heavily male by both population and tradition. Fire service leaders who are not prepared to manage these workforce changes may find their workforce is managing them instead. Fire chiefs used to feel comfortably progressive saying, “We’ll hire anybody who meets our standards.” But the underlying premise to that statement has now been challenged. How have those standards been set? Are they reasonable? Can all current members of the department meet them? What happens to someone who does meet the standards, but then faces a wall of hostility from their new coworkers? What support systems are available for those who are excluded from the privileges of the dominant group? What fire service leaders have learned, as first men of color and then women of color and white women have entered the field, is that policies that appear to be neutral, or policies that seem to apply equally to everyone, do not necessarily create equal opportunity. Altering the identity of people in a fundamentally unaltered workplace leaves the door open to friction, miscommunication and a host of interpersonal issues that can result in poor performance and a loss of teamwork, or worse. The commitment to equal opportunity in employment has evolved into a commitment to much more than that: to a workforce where diversity itself is valued. This book was developed to help the fire service leader manage the changing fire service workforce as it becomes progressively more inclusive of larger numbers of women in all ranks. It offers guidance and suggestions from people with experience and expertise, and provides choices and options more often than single “right” answers. The authors hope they have created a guide that, in calling on a wide range of resources, can be useful to a people with a wide range of needs. As a resource to fire service women, a companion document to Many Faces, One Purpose has been created, providing information for women firefighters and women considering firefighting careers. Copies ofMany Women Strong: A Handbook for Women Firefighters are available from the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA). Two specific limitations of this document must be noted. While the material has received legal review, it does not consider the requirements of most State or local laws and regulations. And, while the information here was current as of mid-1996, legal issues are always subject to change. This handbook is not intended to be a substitute for competent legal advice, which always should be sought before implementing any policy with legal implications. The ideas and resources in the handbook have been drawn from the experiences of fire departments across the country in more than two decades of women’s involvement in career-level fire suppression. They are offered here to all those in the fire service, career and volunteer alike, whose job it is to manage the transition to a gender-integrated workforce and who wish to make that transition as smooth as possible. This book is particularly created for, and dedicated to, fire service managers. The ease of that transition depends above all on their commitment and hard work. Many Faces, One Purpose was prepared under contract to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) by Women in the Fire Service, Inc. It was made possible only with the assistance of dozens of people from fire departments and other agencies throughout the country who provided information and shared their valuable insights. For this assistance, the researchers and writers of this handbook offer their sincere thanks. Women firefighters: a status report Nearly 25 years after women first entered firefighting as a career, more than 4,500 women hold career-level fire suppression positions in nearly a thousand fire departments in the United States. Hundreds more work for the Federal government or State agencies in wildland fire suppression roles. Overseas, women are career firefighters in Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Costa Rica, Panama, and Brazil. Many thousands of other women, in the U.S. and elsewhere, work in the fire service in nonsuppression roles: emergency medical services (EMS), fire prevention, inspection, arson investigation, communications, and public education. More than 900 U.S. fire departments employ women firefighters and very few major departments have yet to hire their first woman. While nationwide only about 2 percent of firefighters are women, many career departments’ percentages are three or four times that, and a few departments’ ranks are 10 to 15 percent female. Women’s history as volunteer firefighters is much longer than in the career sector, reaching back well over a hundred years. While reliable numbers are difficult to obtain, it is estimated that among the volunteer and paid-on-call fire and rescue forces in the U.S. are perhaps 40,000 women firefighters, and still more women who serve as emergency medical technicians (EMT’s) and paramedics. Women are found in all ranks of the fire service, from recruit firefighter up to chief of department. Women fire chiefs lead organizations ranging in size from small volunteer departments up to those that protect cities the size of Madison, Wisconsin; county departments such as Cobb County, Georgia; and comparable agencies within the wildland fire service. The first generation of career women firefighters, which entered the fire service in the mid- to late-1970’s, is coming of age, and the number of career fire service women at the chief officer level increases every year. There is no such thing as a “typical” woman firefighter. Women firefighters come from all backgrounds, races and ethnicities. They may be single, partnered, married, divorced, or widowed. They may be 6’2” and weigh 200 pounds, or 5’1” and weigh 110 pounds. They may have no children, or be mothers or grandmothers. They may be as young as 18 or as old as 70. They may have a high-school education or Ph.D. What this diverse array of women firefighters has in common is their dedication to their work and their commitment to serving their communities through the fire service. Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................... i Women firefighters: a status report ............................................................................iii Recruiting women firefighters ...................................................................................... 1 Recruiting women as volunteer firefighters .............................................................. 17 Physical performance testing for firefighters ............................................................ 19 Legal aspects of physical performance testing ........................................................... 31 Firefighter training ...................................................................................................... 35 Stopping sexual harassment in the fire service ......................................................... 41 Sexual harassment: the legal background ................................................................. 55 Reproductive safety and family issues for firefighters .............................................. 65 Child care for the fire service ..................................................................................... 75 Nepotism and firefighter marriages ........................................................................... 77 Fire station
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