How Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is recruiting more women

Larios is an HR manager, and leader of the SFRS wholetime recruitment campaign which was launched this week – and over the past few weeks she’s been holding a number of women-only events to show just what’s involved in the job.

“We want to reach out and engage with people who wouldn’t normally apply,” says Larios, who adds that the service wants to give encouragement and support to potential applicants, and answer any questions they may have about firefighting. “It’s not about pretending that the service is going to be all female or anything like that.”

Larios explains that many women don’t believe they can reach the level of fitness that is required for the job. The events offer an environment where women may feel more confident in raising concerns that men may not necessarily have.

“Generally, I think there’s still hesitation that it’s not necessarily a career for females which is absolutely not the case,” she says. “Hopefully events like this can show what opportunities are available and what it can bring.”

The incentive has proven to be popular, and female firefighters from all over Scotland attended the sold-out event to offer their support to prospective applicants.

One is Jayne Cooney. With a total of six years in the fire service, she travelled from her home base in south Scotland to share her experiences.

“It was something that I had never thought about doing. I had two children and I had stopped working so that I could look after them. I’m kind of an ‘outsidey’ type person,” she says.

“One day someone knocked on my door and said, ‘do you fancy joining the fire service?’ And I was like, ‘no, don’t be so silly!’” She pulls a mock face and laughs.

“And they talked me around after a wee while, so I joined. It’s been amazing because it’s challenged me. It’s made me do things that I didn’t think I could do. It made me realise that I’m not just a stay-at-home mum anymore. I can believe in myself and go out and achieve these things.”

Cooney has no regrets about joining the service, but wishes it was something that she had discovered earlier:

“In our village some people raise funds for local charities and groups, and for me being a firefighter is my way of giving back to my community. I just find it really rewarding. I wish I’d done it when I was younger.”

In the corner of the room, chatting eagerly to the rest of the staff, is 22-year-old Erin Brown. The fresh-faced firefighter is considered the baby of her station, and she certainly doesn’t fit the stereotypical image that is often presented in the media. This makes her the perfect role model for women considering a career in the service, according to her station watch manager, Gale Coates.

“She looks like just a normal girl,” Coates says. “She’s not a bodybuilder. She’s not an athlete.”

Only a year ago, Brown was working in her local Co-op in Eyemouth. It was her sister who convinced her to apply to the retained service, and assisting her community is what inspires her to carry out the work that she does.

“There were a few local accidents that had happened in my hometown, so it’s a bit more personal. That’s what inspired me first because when you’re retained, you’re in your own community and you’re protecting your own community, which fuelled the passion that I’ve got for it.”

Brown travelled into Falkirk from her new base in Musselburgh, to offer help and show women that age and gender are no barrier to joining.

“If you want to do it you can do it," she said. "If you’ve got the passion for it, they’ll help you get the skills. Nobody is born with the skills to be a firefighter. Everyone has their own individual qualities that they bring to the service – regardless of age, gender, religion.”

The Applicants

Hoping to gain a place in the service is 27-year-old Hayley Moir, who is currently a veterinary nurse.

“There’s a lot of aspects that I really enjoy about my job,” she says. “I help animals and I really enjoy that, but lately I’ve found there’s so much more that I could be doing with my life, and I feel that the next stage would be to try to help people as well as animals.”

She has already been made captain by her small group of peers who are now preparing for the dreaded "bleep test" that is used to assess applicants' fitness levels. She seems unfazed by the upcoming assessment, and her natural confidence and leadership shines through.

“I work as part of a team on a daily basis anyway, so I feel like this career would be the next step into working with a team and setting myself some new goals,” says Moir.

Nearby, dressed smartly and clutching a notebook, is Demi Chalioti. While her brother is a firefighter in their home country of Greece, she was unable to apply to the same service due to age restrictions imposed on applicants.

“At first I thought I will never be able to do something like that,” she says.

At the age of 39, she has already held jobs in airlines, hospitals and addiction counselling – but to be a firefighter is her biggest goal.

“This is my dream job. I want to fight for a position in the service," she says.

“At first, I moved here for studying in university. I studied psychology and counselling at Stirling, but then I lived right next to a fire station in my area.”

Chalioti stops before breaking into a smile. “It’s all I think about”, she says.

Since working in a volunteer rescue team for two years, with both men and women, she has no worries about facing discrimination, and enjoys how active the work keeps her.

“I really like that the service is encouraging women to apply because you might have a different idea before you come here, because of the media and stereotypes. But it’s nothing like that. Everybody is so welcoming. If I could get in, this will be my life.”

The wholetime recruitment campaign opened this week.

SIDEBAR:

How Social Media Can Recruit Women into male dominated fields

Often, social media sites such as Instagram have come under fire for their inaccurate portrayals of real life. The platform has often been criticised for its abundance of "Instagram influencers" who have been accused of promoting unrealistic lifestyles. However, if you scrape beyond the surface, there’s a lot more to be found.

It was American activist Marian Wright Edelman who said: “You can’t be what you cannot see.” Without role models, it is difficult to imagine what we could become. This is especially true for women who lack female mentors or role models in male-dominated fields.

Now, through the use of social media, it is easier than ever to find successful women in almost every career imaginable. A quick search of #female pilot, for example, pulls up 164,000 posts and accounts from women in aviation, all over the world. One of the most popular accounts, “pilotmaria”, boasts 533,000 followers and gives an insight into the life of Swedish airline pilot, Maria Pettersson. Through her informative account, the Boeing 737 pilot discusses breaking stereotypes, educates on aviation, and urges women to consider flying as a career – all while travelling to some of the most exotic locations on the planet.

A quick search for "offshoreblondie" shows the perks of working in the oil and gas industry. With almost 25,000 followers, Scarlett Mummery uses her platform to educate girls on the opportunities that exist within the sector, and to inspire them to enter the field. The offshore geotechnical engineer documents her work life in oil rigs across the globe, and produces question and answer videos for those wanting a further insight into this lucrative career.

Produced by Google, "madewithcode" is a platform that was developed to encourage girls to learn coding. The account is not comprised of one person, but rather many girls and women across the globe, who share their achievements in the world of tech. With almost 97,000 followers, its large outreach has offered a way for girls to receive support and find female role models in a field where they are famously underrepresented. Previously, the initiative paired up with Teen Vogue to further interest and make computer programming more accessible to young girls.