New Cincinnati Fire Chief Says He Will 'Hire More Women'

Referring to the story here on FireEMSBlogs.com do you think it is okay for a newly appointed fire chief to say he will 'hire more women'? Doesn't this put the newly hired women in the spotlight and at an unfair disadvantage in the fire stations? I believe Cincy has several dozen women working in 26 stations.

Just thought it was an odd statement.

Story: http://sidecharlie.com/2011/01/11/cincinnatis-new-fire-chief-ignite...

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Permalink Reply by Gregory Borg on January 13, 2011 at 3:08pm

First of all most volunteer companies do not have a competitive test to join. They are hurting for people so they take whom ever shows up. So you cannot compare the volunteer fire service to the paid fire service on this issue.
Secondly I find it interesting that you do not let the contributors know if you are paid, volunteer, a woman or a man. Are you a chief or a firefighter? Why do you hide your information?

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Permalink Reply by WestPhilly on January 13, 2011 at 3:19pm

Greg,

Our military has the solution to the problem faced by the women in your neck of the woods. (See my reply to Greenman on Pg.2 of this thread).

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Permalink Reply by FETC on January 13, 2011 at 3:30pm

How about hiring the best.... whether it is male / female / age / race / color / religion etc.

Same BS story and anybody who supports this is not looking for the best service delivery, just political equality in a so called competitive hiring process.

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Permalink Reply by Gregory Borg on January 13, 2011 at 3:54pm

WP, that sound interesting. Lets have some FF's that are hired to an easier standard. The lets expect the same performance out of them? We would have more women.
Our department has lowered the physical agility standard, similar to CPAT to make it easier for women to pass (they still can't pass it) so that we have hired smaller/weaker men as well. How does this help anyone. A neighboring department has a competitive physical test and their new hire are noticeably bigger than ours. I don't know if that make them better at the job, but it does have an influence.

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Permalink Reply by Gregory Borg on January 13, 2011 at 3:58pm

Why should the city have to recruit for a job that pays $75,000 a year after 5 years and you work 8 days a month with full benefits? If the women in the community cannot figure out what a good deal that is then they are not smart enough to be on the job.

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Permalink Reply by WestPhilly on January 13, 2011 at 4:01pm

Greg,

Philadelphia simply did away with any physical standard whatsoever. The only physical that needs passing is of the medical variety. Appalling.

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Permalink Reply by Jack/dt on January 13, 2011 at 4:18pm

And now, for something completely different:

The Health Resources and Service Administration’s National Sample Survey of 2000 says that of the estimated 2,696,540 registered nurses in the United States, 5.9 percent are male. About 6 percent of nurses today are male.

"The men who go into nursing have to realize that it’s a profession dominated by women, so if they don’t get along with women well, it’s not a good profession for them. Susan Boughn, Ed.D., MSN, RN, a nursing professor at The College of New Jersey School of Nursing.
http://www.nurseweek.com/news/features/01-05/men.html

Now imagine a statement made by a Fire Chief, "The women who go into firefighting have to realize that it’s a profession dominated by men, so if they don’t get along with men well, it’s not a good profession for them.
Can't you just HEAR the cries of sexism, discrimination and (possibly) misogyny?

“The fact that male nurses are not given equal opportunity to move up in the ranks or are being denied equal employment opportunities is repeatedly heard during our annual conferences by our membership,” he states. “Many male nurses are denied [the opportunity to work in] certain areas in hospitals, such as labor and delivery units, or nursery units. In my 30 years as a nurse, I have seen many unfair practices in which male nurses and minorities were passed up for promotions due to gender. This practice continues today and is slowly surfacing in courts throughout the country.”
http://www.minoritynurse.com/men-nursing/men-nursing

Where is the male-directed hiring to get more men into nursing?
And this is a profession where physical standards are almost meaningless (have you seen the size of some of the nurses?)

Of course, the fact that there are so few male nurses may be simply a result that, because men are smarter, they instead become doctors.

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Permalink Reply by Stormey Tucker on January 13, 2011 at 11:51pm

WestPhilly-

Ok I do apologize for the way that I may have sounded in my "rant" ha ha! Anyways so I hope no hard feelings and that you take care and be safe out there.