SAM Lowden usually has to remove her helmet after working at a fireground before onlookers – and sometimes even colleagues – realise she is a woman.
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“They say ‘Wow, well done Carro girl!’,” said Ms Lowden, 23, the only female from 14 retained Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters based at Carrington. “But for the number of males who want to do this job and help people, there are just as many females too.”
Ms Lowden is one of the 8000 people expected to apply to Fire and Rescue’s highly competitive permanent firefighter recruitment campaign, which involves participants going through online testing to physical, medical and psychological exams and an interview in the hopes of being among the 120 chosen to join the ranks.
Commissioner Greg Mullins has decided the service will this year take an equal number of the highest scoring male and female applicants through each stage, with the aim of providing a level playing field.
Men and women will progress through the same stages and be required to meet the exact same standards.
Since women joined the service in 1985, only 207 of 3794 recruits – or 5.5 per cent – have been female.
Commissioner Mullins said the number of female applicants had been growing each year – from 1041 in 2014 to 1455 in 2015 for example – but the overwhelmingly large number of male applicants and the structure of the staged process had the “unintended consequence” of putting them at a disadvantage.
“We’ve been cutting ourselves off from the more creative and different ideas and the huge benefits of having a more diverse workforce,” he said. “If anyone is still stuck in the attitudes of 30 years ago they need a reality check. Every aspect of firework is being done by women – they can be heroes too.”
Applications opened on Monday and so far, 25 per cent are from women.
Ms Lowden, who was previously in the army, said her level of preparation helped her feel confident. “From the first day I started working here I knew I wanted to do this full time – and for the rest of my life. It’s my dream job.”
FANNING FLAMES FOR MORE EQUALITY
NEWCASTLE’s highest ranking female firefighter will travel next month to seven countries to research how their fire services have used recruitment strategies to improve gender balance.
Bronnie Mackintosh was a 2015 Churchill Scholarship recipient and will use her trip to Japan, India, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Canada and the United States to gather information to share with the world and create a movement of change.
She also hopes to establish a camp for girls that will cover personal development and be a gateway into a career with the emergency services.
Ms Mackintosh joined Fire and Rescue NSW as a permanent firefighter 14 years ago and is now one of only 13 female station officers across the state.
She said the decision to take an equal number of male and female applicants had received backlash, but was a “turning point” that would ensure the service better reflected the community.
“The role is so diverse and we need diverse people to do it,” she said.
“We’re going to see an increase in female applicants as more women see it as a viable career.
“The potential is for significant cultural change and our evolution into a more sustainable service.”