Many Faces, One Purpose: A Manager's Handbook on Women in Firefighting

When an organization moves away from a generations-long tradition of being all-male toward a future that includes men and women equally, a significant change takes place. Change can be upsetting and threatening to those who are used to, and invested in, the way things "have always been." Fire may know no gender, but people do, and the fire chief of the 1990's spends more time managing people than controlling fire. Increasing numbers of women are becoming firefighters and fire officers, entering and advancing in a field that is still heavily male by both population and tradition. Fire service leaders who are not prepared to manage these workforce changes may find their workforce is managing them instead.