Feb./March 2000 Issue Number 8

Is a monthly electronic newsletter which links current events and issues to the daily challenges faced by fire and emergency services managers. Current topics in the area of sexual harassment, diversity management and conflict resolution will be discussed.

We hope that you find the information here useful and provocative.
Let us know what you think!

Interpersonal Dynamics in Fire Service Organizations, February 7-18, 2000. Emmitsburg, MD. Linda Willing will be co-instructing this class at the National Fire Academy.

Leadership Training Seminar, April 28-30, 2000, Madison, Wisconsin. For more information, contact Women in the Fire Service www.wfsi.org.

The Importance of Role Models

In a recent interview, astronaut Sandy Magnus talked about what first motivated her to aspire to a career in the space program. "While I don't remember a defining moment or event which inspired my dream," she said, "I very clearly remember an article in the local newspaper about the selection of Sally Ride and the other women of the class of 1978 into the astronaut program. Reading that article, right before I started my freshman year in high school, was a special moment for me. I realized my dream was possible; women could be astronauts."

It is easy to overlook the importance of role models in everyday life. When women and minorities have seemingly moved into every type of profession previously closed to them, it may seem redundant to focus on the part role models play in their success. Women have been career firefighters in the United States since 1974, and minority men have been in the emergency services longer than that. Why should role models be important now?

The answer is that people live their daily lives locally, not nationally. It doesn't matter much what is going on 1,000 miles away or even 100 miles away if it does not reflect the reality of local life. If girls never see a woman on a fire truck when they are growing up, they are highly unlikely to choose firefighting as a career direction. If members of minority groups know that they will be the first Black/Asian/Hispanic/Native American to be hired by a department, the decision about pursuing a career in the fire service is much more complex.

Children develop ideas about possible or desirable careers at an early age. Adults base their career decisions on more than just pay and benefits. Many people are currently unaware of the tremendous rewards that may come from a emergency services career, because they have never seen anyone who looks like them in that role. Others who may be attracted to emergency services work might choose another direction because they do not want to "be the first."

The existence of positive role models within your department and the greater community are one of the best ways you have of promoting diversity within your department. Although you should never force minority members of the department to be on display in a way that makes them uncomfortable, there are many ways you can raise community awareness that emergency service work can be for everyone.

USA Today reports that the Army has the most diverse workforce among the four major branches of the armed forces. Over forty percent of the Army is made up of ethnic or racial minorities. The Navy reports 33.9%, the Marine Corps 31.7% and the Air Force includes 24.5% minority members.

One question that comes up during sexual harassment training is why the law seems to change so frequently. It is source of confusion for many people, but there is a good reason for it. Sexual harassment law is young law. Although discrimination based on sex was made illegal by the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the inclusion was an afterthought, and sex discrimination law was rarely enforced in the following decade.

It was only in the 1970's that anyone began to consider sexual harassment as a subset of sex discrimination. The first official guidelines on sexual harassment were published by the EEOC in 1980, and these initial guidelines only addressed the most serious form of harassment, quid pro quo. Harassment based on hostile work environment was not officially defined until 1986. In subsequent years, it has been common for at least one sexual harassment case per year to make its way to the Supreme Court. It is at this level that the law is being refined.

When considered in this light - that sexual harassment wasn't even officially against the law until 1980, just 20 years ago– it becomes more understandable why people are still confused about the topic. Recent legal decisions have gone a long way toward clarifying important aspects of the law, but there is still ground to cover. The current trend at the federal level is to bring sexual harassment law and other types of discrimination law into more consistent alignment, and EEOC guidelines have been adjusted toward this goal.

It is not surprising that people feel confused about what is a relatively branch of federal law. The best way to deal with this confusion is to provide clear, relevant training to employees on the topic of sexual harassment, and all types of harassment in the workplace.