Recently I was chatting with several public safety women regarding the lack of sufficient numbers of women in firefighting and law enforcement.
A number of us who have been in the public safety arena for many years expressed frustration over a common piece of advice that we hear from many inside public safety and public management: "Don't worry. Things will change. You just need to be patient."
Our small group's common reaction to this was, "Really? It's been 40-plus years in the fire service since women first came on the job and you are telling us to be patient? Bull s—."
Clearly some of us are reaching the point of not only disbelief, but lack of belief completely. Is it possible the fire service will never change? The answer very clearly is a resounding yes.
I tend to get very introspective at times like this. While perusing the bookstore recently, the cover of the July-August edition of the Harvard Business Review caught my eye: "Diversity: Most programs don't work. Here's what to do about it."
What I found in the magazine was eye-opening and, in some ways, comforting. First, the bad news. The fire service does have a bias towards diversity, as do most other professions.
The reason why, according to the Review, is that for the most part, "people rebel against rules that threaten their autonomy." Despite mandatory diversity training, minority status within organizations has not changed, and in some cases, has gotten worse.