The myths and truths about female firefighters
During the LA wildfires, this video of a victim-blaming female firefighter went viral.
It led to a lot of accusations that the fires were because of DEI hires, specifically women, in the fire department.
It’s true that Los Angeles has tried really hard to recruit female firefighters. The city spent millions on diversity programs, and hired its first female chief. But women still make up just 4% of the force.
Should we still be trying (and spending) to recruit more of them?
We know that, for the most part, firefighter training and tests haven’t eased up on physical requirements just to get more women. Most departments use the CPAT – a nationwide standardized physical fitness test that doesn’t care about your gender. Because fire doesn’t care about your gender, either. Firefighters have to physically be able to do the job.
When women pass these tests, they perform just as well as their male counterparts.
But we also know that women don’t tend to want these jobs … or most dangerous jobs. The professions with the highest fatality rates – logging, fishing, roofing, mining – are overwhelmingly male. Other professions like speech pathology and teaching are overwhelmingly female. Should we have quotas for all of those?
It’s true that we shouldn’t discriminate against women or minorities who want to be firefighters … and there was a time when that happened.
But the broader concept of diversity usually means something different. It's become code for "hire more of this type of person" – whether that's based on gender, race, or something else.
And sometimes, it makes it harder for everyone to do their jobs well. When I was a senior manager at Fox News, I HATED firing people. But sometimes they just couldn't do their job.
I could fire a young white guy at will. But if that person was older, or a minority, or female, there were multiple meetings and extra accommodations. If someone checked several diversity boxes, we'd often have the legal department involved too, because they knew a lawsuit might be coming.
As a manager, you naturally start cutting some people more slack. You tolerate incompetence among some that you wouldn't accept from others. And when you have a Fire Chief prioritizing certain demographics, I guarantee these same dynamics are at play.
Women and minorities have faced real discrimination in most professions. Having laws and systems to prevent that is imperative. But what we're seeing now goes way beyond preventing discrimination.
It seems like the department's goal should be ensuring everyone has a fair shot at becoming a firefighter – not ensuring every firehouse matches census data.
Want to know more about what I learned about female firefighters? Check out my YouTube video below.
– Ken
From 1980 to 1999 I was director of Dallas’ Civil Service Department responsible for selection testing for municipal employment During that period there was tremendous legal pressure to assure employment opportunities for women in public safety occupations. The physical ability evaluation was a huge obstacle in hiring for firefighters. We had staff embedded in fire stations meticulously documenting tasks routinely performed on the job. The result was the design of a physical ability exam that was fully job related. We went so far as to have only female staff members administer the exam. Lots of men but most women could not qualify. The few women who did qualify ultimately transferred out by their request. The stamina, strength and overall physical demands of the job place firefighting near the top of all occupations in this regard. There are other occupations which demand extreme physical strength basically all shift (oil drilling platforms, e.g.) but firefighting demands jumping from bed to intense work at the sound of an unpredictable alarm which is an added stressor. I should add our selection process survived several federal court challenges. Having retired in 1999, I have no idea what has transpired since.
IF women want to fight fires then Yes if fit for the job
NOT for DEI