Women in fire service hit ‘glass ceiling’ at senior executive level

In the top five per cent of earners in the service, less than a fifth were women, with the total number across all positions standing at 188 staff or 16 per cent.

In addition, only five per cent of operational firefighters are women, despite female firefighters being recruited in Britain for 35 years.

In the top two management brackets, which include directors and area managers, there is only one female member of staff, sharing her responsibilities with a grand total of 23 men.

“There is significant gender inequality and segregation in South Yorkshire, with a glass ceiling at senior management level for women,” the report says.

The survey also found that black and ethnic minorities severely under-represented.

The survey revealed that nearly 96 per cent of roles were filled by people of white British origin.

It calls on the bosses to “initiate an immediate debate about the near total absence of women in senior management grades in South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue [SYFR] and to identify a leadership approach to change the situation.”

An “immediate approach” is needed to promote women above the role of Station Manager.

There are currently no operational females employed above this level.

“Progression” and “positive action in recruitment” is also required to address the under-representation of ethnic minorities.

However, the number of black and minority ethnic staff is in line with the national average, which stands at 3.1 per cent.

Concerns were also expressed about the aging workforce, with only four per cent of staff under the age of 25.

It recommends setting up apprenticeship schemes to encourage more young people to join the fire service.

A possible “cultural issue” within the service over disability was also identified. The report said there was “a higher level of unwillingness to disclose disability status in the workplace than would be expected.”

A spokesman for SYFR said: “The issue highlighted by this profile is that we are not recruiting at the moment because of budget constraints. If we are unable to recruit we are unable to address this.

“However, we are not planning to make any redundancies deliberately to redress the balance.”

But despite likely redundancies to frontline firefighters, the service is preparing to advertise nationally for a new permanent chief officer and chief executive, a position with a salary of £140,000.

The post is presently filled by Deputy Chief Officer Jamie Courtney.

Unions criticised the move and questioned why the county’s four fire services couldn’t share chief executives.

It comes after plans were announced to close 10 fire stations and lose 135 frontline firefighters in West Yorkshire.

Yorkshire Fire Brigades Union regional secretary Pete Smith said: “These cuts are the worst we’ve ever seen and come on the back of already serious cuts to the service in recent years.

“Make no mistake, they are a threat to the safety of the public and the firefighters – this is a bonfire of the fire service.

“These cuts will impact on everything we do as an all-round rescue service

“There are times when we have been seriously stretched even with our current resources.

“These cuts risk tipping us over the edge and that will have a very serious impact on the public.”