Diversity research highlighted in gender balance report

Research completed by the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC and Victoria University is highlighted in a new report describing the benefits, rationale and future of diversity and inclusion in the fire and emergency sector.

Titled Gender balance in fire and emergency, going beyond ‘it’s the right thing to do’ – the case for change, the report was jointly produced by Male Champions of Change’s Fire and Emergency Group and AFAC to demonstrate the clear case for improving gender balance in the sector.

The report builds directly on the work of the CRC’s Diversity and inclusion: building strength and capability project, led by Celeste Young at Victoria University. This project focused on understanding what effective diversity and inclusion looks like in emergency management agencies, how this can be measured and ways for it to be more successfully implemented. The report specifically notes that this research has been very effective in describing the significant risks associated with not taking action to address the challenges of diversity and inclusion in the Australasian emergency services sector.

Celeste hosted an online forum in December 2020 – alongside representatives from the CRC, Women and Firefighting Australasia, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, and Fire and Emergency New Zealand – to launch the new Diversity and inclusion framework for emergency management policy and practice.

Kristen Hilton, the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner, says that both the sector and the community can benefit from the report.

“Fire and emergency services play a vital role in keeping our community safe. The sector and the community will benefit from organisations that are fairer, more diverse and great places for everyone,” she said.

The report highlights the benefits of leading through action in areas such as governance and risk management, community engagement, health and safety, human capital and capability, organisational performance, leadership, team performance, processes and systems, and measurement and evaluation.

Male Champions of Change’s Fire and Emergency Group, alongside AFAC members, have been collaborating on gender equality initiatives since 2017, focusing on advancing gender equality, and professional, respectful and inclusive workplaces in the fire and emergency sector. Thirty fire and emergency organisations are represented in the group. Although there have been increases in women’s leadership during that time, the overall pace of change has been slow and gender and other diversity gains remain difficult to achieve – 78 per cent of frontline services delivery roles in fire and emergency services are held by men.

The report is an example of the ways in which CRC research is successfully driving change in the sector. You can download the full report here.