Fitting-in

Fitting-inDr Dave Baigent Sarah O’Connor

Change is always difficult in the fire service

Today we are going to talk about:

•Some history on the employment and experiences of women in the fire service

•The cultural mechanisms that support male firefighter’s resistance to women fire-fighters

•How cultural resistance is reproduced and sustained

•Some ways forward

Identifying the extent of the problem

1996 The UK fire service employs around 39,000 male and 139 (0.5%) female firefighters

• 63.9% of women firefighters indicate they have been sexually harassed (Baigent 1996)

1999Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Fire Service - fire service is “Institutionally Sexist” (HMCIFS 1999)

2007Fire service employs around 31,000 men and 800 (2.5%) women firefighters:

• 53.4% of women firefighters report they have been harassed (Baigent 2006)

2008

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Fire Service – “Not at the bottom of the league but in a different league”

UK Government (2008) recognises the cultural problems with employing women as firefighters

The data

In the 12 months preceding the survey: verbal assaults (witnessed by 58%); bullying and harassment (51%)

The use and distribution of pornography (39%)

One witnesses

“The boys’ culture is deeply integrated [in the Service] and it is disgraceful what goes on, with explicit things (such as pornographic) mags and talking. And management allows it to go on.”

What did female firefighters 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...

Recent bad news – England - 2010

– Woman firefighter ‘slept with her boss to stop him sexually harassing her’

– Undisclosed financial damages paid

– In one incident at the fire station, she said, she was dressed only in her underwear while changing into her uniform when she realised four colleagues were gawping at her through a window.

– ‘This isn’t just going on at the fire station where I worked. There is bullying and harassment right across the fire service. It really is’

Structural, institutional or individual actions?

Four women who left the fire servicePrincipal Manager

•Challenged the culture just by being there•Marginalised by other principal managers•Held her ground – worn down – •Took out a sexual harassment action – so weakened settled out of court (including

a silencing agreement)

Watch manager•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 work experience

Did not tell anyone

Will not join the fire service

An analysis of how some women firefighters respond to harassment

First caught in the headlights

•Constant drip of harassment (small things that destroy confidence)

•Women able to recognise what is happening

•Believe once men accept them the situation would improve

Still caught in headlights

•Doubting sanity

•Wanting justice - ask for help from manager

•Managers support women until they make an official complaint

•Support is withdrawn and women psychologically unable to continue

Could have been solved

• Any man in the group could have stopped ‘the drip’ but cultural solidarity prevents them from speaking out

Looking for answers –

A sense of denial:

•A combination of confident Chief Officers and equality managers claiming that sexism is history

•At one stage the news on the harassment of women got so bad that Chief Fire Officers implemented a moratorium on bad news in this area because it was so debilitating

Whilst equality in the fire service has improved:

•When compared with what is happening in the outside world – the fire service really is in another league

Approaches and strategiesMoral argument

•Fairness for all - ‘supported‘ by FBU, Government and managers

Women continue to be harassed

Education•All firefighters have received equality training

•Firefighters hear the message and subvert it•Increases secrecy •Training helps firefighters to avoid being caught

Harassment becomes more sophisticated

Sanctions•Strict discipline measures threatened

•Drives harassment further underground•Creates/increases group solidarity•Culture identifies the harasser as victim•Women stop speaking out because of the backlash against

them

Harassment is institutionalised

UK’s latest approach

Government put in place a 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

But women are still being harassed 

Why?

Harassment - Sexism

Not just a British, European, American or Australian problem

• Internationally the fire service is sexist

You are in a unique position of (almost) starting from new!

• You can stop sexism?

Saying you are not sexist is not enough!

You have to be anti-sexist !

Pro-active to stop ‘the drip’!

The Equality AgendaThe fire service argues it promotes equality, but ……..

Be careful not to ignore harassment to make it invisible?

Equality may be one of those areas where people only see what they want to see

It is sometimes difficult for managers to recognise that they are not always in control

Remember we encourage what we permit!

Speak out against sexism!Make it visible

So how do we take down the fire walls and ceilings that keep women out?

People blame the culture

But do managers understand what is meant by culture?

Do you recognise that there are at least two cultures?

?

Research (Baigent 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010)

Firefighters have three core values/needs

•A need to protect the public

•A need to form up in a team

•A need to protect their team, group cohesion, image and their (masculine) identity

Political, moral and economic considerations may not always be at the top of firefighters' value system.

They may just prefer to protect their image

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Structural arrangements for firefireghting

Put into practise through

•Formal culture (organisational) – the way managers want the job done

•Informal culture (occupational) - the way firefighters do things around here

Firefighters are people who will act to help others

Acting to help others can lead to firefighters thinking they are ‘special’?

Whilst at the same time they argue ‘I am only doing my job’

Firefighter’s thinking

Firefighters organise their working environment and operational duties around the way they currently do their job

•Firefighters construct an image and identity around their work

•The public recognise this image and identity

•Helps create firefighter’s heroic status (hegemonic dividends).

•Firefighters seen as special ‘men’

Change is therefore a threat

Employing women threatens traditional working patterns and identity

Informal culture is pervasive –

Culture is a combination of group ownership, tradition and history

Firefighting is an extremely skilful occupation

•Skills and tradition passed down from generation to generation

•Each generation of firefighters fit the next generation of firefighters in with ‘the way things are done around here’

Positives

•Provides good team working skills

•Teaches new firefighters how to do their job

•Maintains tradition

•Sense of belonging

•Self-worth

Informal Culture - negatives

Firefighters do not only “come to work to work”

They also create a masculine identity and image at work• defend it • protect it• prove it

Firefighters do this by fitting people they recognise as like them in with their culture

Women (and recognised ‘others’- those that firefighters believe spoil their image) are not on their list

Negatives

Some toxic agendas related to keeping the image alive have nothing to do with firefighting but to do with solidarity

All male fire stations develop an atmosphere where masculine conversations are the norm.

•Negative humour, jokes and pornography

•Negative when teamwork and bonding results in “group think”

•Negative when white male firefighters use their solidarity to resist legitimate change

•Negative when white male firefighters exclude all ‘others’ to protect their identity, image and masculinity

The Plan: Transactional and Transformational

First you must recognise the problem

This is not just a simple matter of employing women!

Employing women is a direct challenge to the male culture:

• ‘the way things are done around here’

Commitment by Politicians and Managers - Send a consistent message

• Show that you mean it and know what you mean.

• It is difficult for a manager to recognise they may not always be in control

• What managers don’t challenge they endorse.

• You must be anti-sexist !

Prepare your fire service to show women that they belong

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%).

Facilities

Ensure women are afforded the same privacy and facilities they might expect in any other industry.  

•Privacy, toilets and washing facilities are a constant source of anxiety

How are you going to deal with harassment?

Send a clear message of how the workforce is going to change

•Be pro-active

•Recognise and deal with incidents in the workplace

•Do not use a sledgehammer if it prevents women from speaking out

Get firefighters to stop ‘the drip’

Warm up part of the sea – break the pattern

Avoid a situation where trainees have to fit-in with difficult practices

Concentrate your resources at one station•Grow and manage your new fire service

•Provide positive models (supportive men)

•Put women together

•Be flexible and ensure you constantly research/monitor what is happening

•Gradually undo the toxic side of firefighter’s masculine culture

•Physical space and psychological space

•Attitudes designed to humiliate people are managed

Need to demystify diversity movement•Challenge ‘fear syndrome’ amongst traditional majorities•Explain and justify your recruitment standards

Be Aware

Success is likely to provide a backlash from men

Men believe positive action is used to lower standards

When you first start this initiative there is an opportunity for you (the leaders) to take your firemen with you

Allow the men to recognise they are part of the process

•Do not make the men feel it is being done to them

•Introduce the firemen to women firefighters as soon as possible

Get the watch to sponsor and support (not patronise) their women

Take responsibility – you have set the rules!

Performance management •Monitoring and accountability

•Make managers responsible

•Make firefighters accountable -

•Carry out

•Impact assessments,

•Equality action plans,

•Auditing

Good Luck

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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