Why is equality and diversity in the
fire service so difficult to achieve?
What can be done?
Dave Baigent
dave.baigent@fitting-in.com
Sarah O’Connor
sarah.oconnor@fitting-in.com
http://www.fitting-in.com
Our agenda for today
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Talk about equality
Identify what has been done in UK
Discuss fire service culture(s) and masculinity
Recognise how firefighter’s learn their skills
Suggest the ‘Fitting-in Plan’
Offer further support
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
This PowerPoint is fully supported
We are here to help
Today
Tomorrow
And in the future
Sweden is not that far away
dave.baigent@fitting-in.com
sarah.oconnor@fitting-in.com
visit us at http://www.fitting-in.com
Why promote equality and diversity?
Reasons
• Moral argument/ political judgement.
• Diversity may provide new skills and open new channels to reach out to the
diverse communities we serve (both operational and in improving fire safety)
To be considered
• Political, moral and economic considerations may not always be at the top of
firefighters' value system.
• It is proving difficult to widen the view of those firefighters who believe they
deliver a first rate service (utopian conservative ideals that indicate that
firefighters know best).
• Firefighters organise their working environment and operational duties around the
way they currently do their job.
• Change threatens traditional working patterns and life biographies
• Firefighters construct an identity around their work – integrating ‘others’ (people
firefighters believe are not like them) dilutes masculine identities and challenges
men’s hegemonic dividends.
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
Does the workforce represent the community?
Numbers
Both the UK and USA started employing women firefighters
around the 1980’s
Nearly 30 years of hard work and:
– UK Women at 3.3% (C&LG 2009)
– USA Women at 3.7% (Hulett, Bendick, Thomas et al. 2008a)
Swedish women at 1.17% (Callerstig, Harrison and Lindholm
2009)
Do firewalls and ceilings prevent women joining and
progressing in the fire service?
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
We don’t like bullies but
Equality may be one of those areas where
people only hear what they want to hear
It is sometimes difficult for managers to
recognise that they are not always in control
Identifying the extent of the problem
High profile incidents in the UK created a focus
• Very high levels of sexism
1996
• The UK fire service employs around 39,000 men and 139 (0.5%) women
firefighters
• 63.9% of women firefighters replied to the survey indicated they have been
sexually harassed (Baigent 1996)
Chief Inspector of Fire Service labels the organisation institutionally sexist
(HMCIFS 1999)
2007
Fire service employs around 31,000 men and 800 (2.5%) women firefighters:
53.4% of women firefighters report they have been harassed (Baigent 2006)
Chief Inspector of Fire Service – “Not at the bottom of the league but in a
different league”
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
Government recognises problems based
in the culture of the Fire Service
A large proportion of respondents in a recent firefighter
survey stated they had witnessed unacceptable behaviour in
the previous 12 months, including:
– • verbal (58 per cent) and physical(11 per cent) assault
– • bullying and harassment (51 per cent)
One major barrier to improving equality and diversity appears
to be cultural attitudes.
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
What did the women say to fitting-in?
Being singled out to do difficult tasks on your own when it was group
training.
Minor mistakes highlighted and being made a fool of in front of watch.
Colleague making things up to watch about things I did or didn't do on
fireground.
1st station ignored. Walked out of rooms etc. 2nd station - physically,
verbally, sexually harassed. Inappropriate questions, conversations,
magazines, language and comments directed at women while I was around.
Belittling, sexual innuendo, preventing attending courses, shouting,
swearing, threatening behaviour, being told I was not putting my career in
front of my family and this was wrong, threat of no promotion because I was
a mum, intimidation, telling colleagues how I was no longer competent at
directing courses, being prevented from transferring to another department.
USA
Research on similar occupations indicates that it would be reasonable to
expect 17% of women to be attracted to firefighting despite its being dirty,
dangerous, and demanding.
When fire department leaders are challenged about these numbers, they
traditionally respond that women do not want and cannot handle the job, so
that low numbers are to be expected.
At the current , females will not reach 17% of firefighters for another 72
years.
Such findings are typical of workplaces whose culture resents the presence
of women and, consciously or unconsciously, intends to exclude them.
Formally defined, a workplace’s “organizational culture” is the system of
beliefs, values, and ways of behaving common to that workplace.
Less formally, it is simply “the way things are done around here.”
These cultures tend to evolve slowly and resist change both actively and
passively.
(Hulett, Bendick, Thomas et al. 2008b)
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
So who is building a the fire wall?
People blame the culture
But do they understand what is meant by
culture?
?
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
The question asked at the Avon women and
leadership conference (2006)
• Question
• How do we increase the numbers of women firefighters in the
fire and rescue service?
• Answer
• Change the culture
• Question
• How do we change the culture?
• Answer
• Increase the number women firefighters in the fire and rescue
service
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
Sexism
Not just a British, Swedish, European or even
American or Australian problem – it appears
worldwide
Sexism?
Avoidance, vagueness, gender blindness ?
Not simply because men are always identifying
women as different
But because difference is unacceptable in the fire
service
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
Looking for answers –
Increasing reliance on finding the right management tools
(constructing more and more bureaucracy)
Hardly any recognition of the problem outside of traditional
change management schemes
Similar to the police, there is a tendency to deny the problem.
A proud Fire Service solves its own problems
At one stage the news on the harassment of women got so
bad that Chief Fire Officers attempted to force the agenda to
be positive
There was almost a moratorium on bad news in this area
because it was so debilitating
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
Language
For example language – how often are women ignored?
Important to recognise women’s presence.
Sweden represents a particularly interesting example as it is a
country widely perceived to be amongst the most ‘gender
equal’ in the world.
Firefighter reality - Are your firefighters different to those
throughout the world? Are your women different?
The male-dominated municipal fire service does not neatly
correlate with this impression. (Callerstig, Harrison and
Lindholm 2009: 49)
“new methodologies for fire fighting, which reduce the risks
and provide an acceptable protection of health and safety for
firemen.” http://www.raddningsverket.se/templates/SRSA_Page____24599.aspx
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
UK Approach
Government put in place a huge framework of requirements alongside the
‘Modernisation’ of the UK Fire and Rescue Service
Collect statistics
Set targets for employment of women
Action Plans
Impact Assessments
Audit by external agency
Performance management
To what extent have these strategies and promoters of equality been
successful?
Little has changed
Women are still being harassed Why?
As one senior women trade unionist said at a working group we had
organised with government – “strategic this strategic that – you haven’t
got a strategic clue.”
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
What was this woman talking about?
Women are being harassed
Moral argument
– fairness for all - ‘supported‘ by FBU, Government and managers
– FAILED
Education
– All firefighters have received equality training
– FAILED
Sanctions
– Strict discipline measures threatened
– FAILED
Outcome
– Education
» Provides the tools to avoid being caught
– Threat
» Increases secrecy
» Drives harassment further underground
» Creates/increases group solidarity
» Culture identifies the harasser as victim
» Stops women speaking out because of backlash
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
Is harassment a consequence of structural, institutional
or individual actions?
• Case studies
• Four women who left the fire service
– Principal Manager
• challenged the culture just be being there
• marginalised by other principal managers throughout the fire service
• held her ground – worn down - took out a sexual harassment action – so
weakened settled out of court (including a silencing agreement)
– Watch manager
• successful career
• promoted and not accepted by peers
• looked for help – unsupported by managers – took out sexual harassment
action - so weakened settled out of court (including a silencing
agreement)
– Firefighter
• treated badly – stood out against the flow – weakened – took out sexual
harassment action – settled out of court (including a silencing agreement)
– Student
• harassed whilst on workplacement – kept secret – spoke out after she left
– will not now join the fire and rescue service
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in
Ltd
What’s happening to women firefighters?
• First caught in the headlights
– Women able to recognise what was happening
– Believing once men accepted them it would get better
• Still caught in headlights
– Wanting justice
– Doubting sanity
– Psychologically unable to continue
• Could have been solved
– Any man in the group could have stopped this behaviour
but the culture prevented it
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
What is happening in the organisation?
• Managers say we cannot do anything unless you take formal
action
• Managers help the victim until women take legal action
• Then
– Caught in headlights managers are frozen by the need to protect the
organisation from expensive harassment claims
– The harasser may be to blame but with a court case looming until the
organisation can buy the woman’s silence they must act against the
victim
– After buying the women’s silence there is no evidence against the
harasser
• Result
–
–
–
–
Little or no recognition of the problem
Avoiding or not even looking for the truth
Little or no attempt to take the moral high ground
All women firefighters learn the lesson that if they complain about
harassment firefighter’s culture will attack them and drive them out
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
These arguments almost make as if
fireservice culture has a life of its own
Firefighters’ culture is a combination of group
ownership, tradition and history
Values that one cohort of firefighters will only
pass down to people like themselves
As a result, it is often the culture (rather than
individuals) that takes the credit/blame for how
the fire and rescue service harasses women who
try to become firefighters
Research (Baigent 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007) that suggests
Firefighters have three core values/needs
A need to protect the public
A need to protect their team and group cohesion
A need to protect their (masculine) identity
Put into practise through
Formal culture (organisational – the culture managers organise)
Informal culture (occupational the culture firefighters organise)
Informal culture is pervasive
Tradition that is held in trust from one generation to the next
Power of the group/watch over the individual
Supports firefighters’ resistance
Firefighters need to prove that they belong (Webarian pre-destiny )
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
Cultural Change
Government recognise that cultural change can be slow
2007 performance assessment found no fire service consistently
demonstrating good practice in its approach to equality and diversity.
UK 2008/131 Cultural change in any organisation is inevitably a slow
process, particularly in organisations with a relatively low staff turnover.
To date, efforts to improve equality and diversity have concentrated on
attracting a new set of more diverse recruits. The risk is that these efforts
might be undermined unless further attempts are made to tackle attitudes to
diversity and inappropriate behaviour.
Such views are fully supported by academic debate on culture and masculinity
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
Masculinity?
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Masculinity - Culture
Heavy manual work calls for strength, endurance, a degree of insensitivity
and toughness, and group solidarity. … asserting superiority over
women…working men's bodily capacities are their economic asset (Connell, 1995: 55)
Creates the type of person who will act to help others and at the same time
this person starts to see themselves as something ‘special’
This celebrated identity is then seen as male
firemen defend it against ‘others’ (women and ethnic minorities)
at the same time firefighters deny publicly that they are special.
Jeff Hearn: a social phenomenon that ‘all’ men gain from; reinforced by some
men through violence.
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
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19/03/2016
Where does masculinity come from,
what does it mean, how powerful is it?
Creation of the imagery by firefighters that
they risk their life to protect people who
cannot protect themselves
But how does this caring image fit when
firefighters deny women access
Harassing women to to protect firefighters’
public image?
Potentially three competing interests
Firefighters have minds of their own
Firefighters make a choices when they join in on
cultural practices – good or bad
Sometimes group behaviour can be so powerful as to
almost force firefighters to act in a certain way –
culture is learned behaviour
Heroes
"Jantelagen," which rejects any pretence at bragging or bravado
Firefighters I interviewed did not overtly boast about heroism
False modesty is a form of image manipulation through which
firefighter denying their heroism
Actually accentuate the image of the heroic firefighter.
Firefighters are quick to ridicule any firefighter who boasts of their
heroism; a lesson that pays dividends once individual firefighters
recognise for themselves that shy heroes are more popular than
brash ones’ (Baigent 2001:47)
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
Informal Culture
The informal culture set by the firefighters
“the way things are done around here”
Whether firefighters’ imagery is true or not it is believed by the
public
And by the firefighters who act out this part who must
defending it
protecting it
proving it
Firefighters do this by fitting people they recognise as like them
in with their culture
Fitting-in each generation with the previous
Skills passed down from generation to generation – to people like
themselves
Some of the skills very positive
Imagery is that firefighting is a dangerous occupation
–reality is that it is an extremely skilful occupation
–firefighters learn their skills from the previous generation
Some toxic
All male fire stations develop an atmosphere where sexually
orientated conversations are common place.
Humour and jokes
Accepted new entrants are offered the opportunity to fit-in
Positive and Toxic agendas are inextricably linked with excluding
women
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
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19/03/2016
Colin, six years service
There are sheep and there are shepherds, or a
shepherd.
And a lot of people only see that way and anything
that this person says is always right.
Just overpowering..it’s hard to explain, ‘come on lets
do this’ and it just rolls.
Starts, it’s like a snowball and it just gets bigger and
bigger and you get caught up in it as it rolls and gets
bigger.
And that’s the only way I can explain it in our watch.
Firefighter’s culture
• Fitting-in with the team
• Positive when it provides good team working skills
• Positive when it results in teaching new firefighters
how to do their job
• Negative when bonding results in “group think”
• Negative when it celebrates a masculinity based on
informal hierarchies and heroic imagery
• Negative when it becomes a counter culture that is
controlled by white men who seek to exclude all
‘others’ to protect their masculinity
The Plan
• Commitment by Politicians and Managers - Send a consistent
message – Show that you mean it.
• Managers – “Are you serious”
– Chiefs on board/committed
– what does being on board mean?
– You must recognise the problem
– Strong line -No point can you blink
• Encourage what we permit – What we don’t challenge we endorse.
• Would you allow your daughter to be treated like women are treated
in the fire service.
• It is difficult for a manager to recognise they may not always be in
control
• Women’s network groups, Women’s section
© Dave Baigent/FittingTrade Union-in Ltd
Recruitment
• Recruitment
• Research indicates for men and women Age 11 (Hulett, Bendick, Thomas
et al. 2008b)
• American research indicates that 60.5% of women were introduced to the
fire service by someone they know (Hulett, Bendick, Thomas et al. 2008b)
• Recruitment standards
• Set fitness levels as appropriate – question your own standards set by men
for men – the belief that people who are physically strongest are the best
– can be seen as a lowering of standards but evidence suggests standards
have risen to a point where they become discriminatory.
• Perhaps in the same way that you teach trainees about science you could
also improve their fitness levels by a programme during training.
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
Show women they belong
Facilities
– Ensure women are afforded the same privacy and facilities they might expect
in any other industry.
– Toilets and washing facilities are a constant source of anxiety
– Provide a uniform that fits.
– A uniform is not just a way of recognising firefighters it is part of their toolkit
– USA: 79.7% of women survey respondents reported problems with ill-fitting
equipment. These problems involved (gloves 57.8% ) boots (46.8%), coats
(38.9%), helmets (28.4%), and breathing masks (25.6%).
Deal with harassment
– Recognise and deal with incidents in the workplace
– find an effective way of recognising what goes wrong and dealing with it
– not a sledgehammer if it prevents women from refusing to speak out
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
Be Aware
Success is likely to provide a backlash from men
Men do not recognise the theory behind positive action
Men believe positive action is used more than it is.
Not lowering standards but ensuring everyone gets treated
fairly – level the playing field
When you first start this initiative there is an opportunity for
the leaders to take their firemen with them
Introduce the firemen to women firefighters as soon as
possible – get the watch to sponsor and support their women
Make the men feel they are part of the process
Do not make the men feel it is being done to them
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
Take responsibility
Monitoring and accountability – make
managers responsible (consequences) make firefighters accountable Performance management
Impact assessments, equality action
plans, auditing
Warm up part of the sea
Provide a choice – avoid a situation where trainees have to fit-in with difficult
practices – manage trainees so they fit-in with positive models
Concentrate your resources don’t spread them out.
•Ensure one place is safe
•Put women together
•Grow and manage your new fire service.
•Establish an exemplary station
•Once this is working make this the norm and work on the next station
• Be flexible and ensure you monitor what is happening all the time
•Gradually undo the toxic side of male firefighters culture
•Physical space and psychological space
•Pranks which test people – homophobic, sexist and racist are stopped
• Need to demystify diversity movement (eg women’s network) to alleviate ‘fear
syndrome’ amongst traditional majorities
If this had been done in the 1980’s then we would not have a sexist fire service
now.
© Dave Baigent/Fitting-in Ltd
Thank you very much
We are here to help
Today
Tomorrow
And in the future
Sweden is not that far away
dave.baigent@fitting-in.com
sarah.oconnor@fitting-in.com
visit us at http://www.fitting-in.com
Fitting-in offers a range of services
Fitting-in seeks to work with the experts – those leaders of the fire and rescue service who were chosen for their decision-making skills.
Since 2001 Fitting-in has also provided a free space for the fire and rescue service and academia to meet and share research. This free service continues and people are
invited to send their work to be published on this site.
Fitting-in offers an extensive research, educational and training portfolio, snapshot audits and elite-briefing led workshops each designed to act as levers for change?
Snapshot Audits: - are a new concept developed especially for the MFRS that led to them saying:
"The Service are delighted with the research and reports produced by "Fitting-in. We believe that your original hypothesis and work undertaken in Merseyside has resulted in
a ground breaking piece of work that can only serve to inform the wider fire and rescue communities."
If you want to look afresh at an old difficulty, respond to something new, carry out an impact assessment, then ask how fast we can turn around our research in an efficient,
rigorous and economic way.
Fitting-in can also cater for your traditional research needs and you may wish to tap into our expertise - contact us to see what we can offer
Elite Workshops:- are stand alone one day packages for senior managers and authority members on a whole raft of areas.
Subjects covered include fire service culture(s), the employment of women as firefighters, change management, initial training. We can offer a whole host of education and
training packages. These workshops have a primary aim of seeking solutions and will be customised to your requirements - they can also be used as team building days for
your senior managers.
We also offer a workshop for people who are having difficulty in understanding how equality works and what diversity means; people who may need to spend some time
reviewing their attitudes.
Contact us at dave.baigent@fitting-in.com
Visit the website http://www.fitting-in.com
Dr. Dave Baigent BA Honours, GradIFireE, PhD
dave.baigent@fitting-in.com Mobile +44 7802 495 329
For a full CV
After serving as a Station Officer for over 30 years in the London Fire Brigade, I studied for a first degree and then researched for my
doctorate on fire service culture.
Principal Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge where I wrote and lecture on the UK’s first Public Service Degree. This
degree focuses on the critical skills necessary for uniformed services and considers formal and informal cultures, community
participation, leadership, change management, modernisation, politics, equality and diversity.
Director of the Fire Service Research and Training Unit at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge.
My research is mainly associated with the harassment of women firefighters, the development of informal masculine cultures and
training.
I am the founding director of Fitting-in, a consultancy that provides research, training and education for the fire and rescue service
Services include:
• snapshot audits to test new ideas and reconsider old difficulties;
• customised workshops to set strategy and at the same time build and develop teams;
• a range of customised educational/training opportunities; particularly on culture, change management, solving problems and the
employment of women firefighters;
• research
Recently, with Sarah O’Connor, I have been working with Merseyside developing the Ethos project that seeks to reconcile cultural
difficulties, implement core values and improve industrial relations. Ethos 1 and 2 reports drew the following comment
"The Service are delighted with the research and reports produced by Fitting-in. We believe that your original hypothesis
and work undertaken in Merseyside has resulted in a ground breaking piece of work that can only serve to inform the
wider fire and rescue communities."
(ACFO Bill Evans)
To sum up Dave has a 360 degree view of the fire and rescue service, he has been a firefighter, a researcher, educationalist,
academic and consultant