Female Firefighters

Concerns about the place of women in the field of firefighting and reasons for denying them positions in the field are unfounded. Women have been in the field of firefighting in the United States since the early 1800s. Physical and psychological testing comparing women with men with respect to firefighting indicate that there are no important differences between the sexes in these regards. Women have gained a solid and permanent place in firefighting, but still trail far behind men in numbers in the field and in positions of leadership.

Over the past decade or so, women firefighters have been a topic of considerable interest. Since the affirmative action legislation of the 1960s and 1970s giving women greater opportunities in firefighting, there have been enough stories of individual women in the field and enough statistical data to get an objective picture of the abilities of women with respect to firefighting and of the effect of women on the field.

In the past few decades, women have made considerable progress in the field. Practically no one any longer questions their right to be firefighters; and fewer persons question their ability to perform the work of firefighting. No

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This was the case with the fire department at Scott Field, Illinois. (June 1997) " 'Outsider within' the Firehouse. The organization Women in the Fire Service, Inc. (Sibley, 1998) Even though women attracted to firefighting have exceptional physical strength and abilities, there have at times been suspicions and accusations that the standards for physical tests for firefighting candidates have been lowered with respect to women candidates.

In the 1960s and 1970s, more women got positions as firefighters from affirmative action legislation passed by Congress and many state legislatures. Government records indicate that these inter-related government agencies formed at least two all-women firefighting crews in the early 1970s. 9 percent for the percentage of women firefighters among career firefighters. (Yoder, 1997, 328-32) As the opponents argued, men just would not--and could not--bond with women the way they could with other men to form a reliable, highly-skilled, cohesive firefighting unit.

Women in Firefighting

Women in the field of firefighting have received quite a lot of attention in the media over the past decade or so because of the influence of feminism on society. Historical accounts and records confirm women have played a part in firefighting since in early 1800s, and probably before. Department of Labor gives the figure of a mere 1. Although the progress for women in firefighting has not been as extensive as the advocates for this hoped for by this time, women have become a permanent part of the field of firefighting.

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