Women in firefighting

The role of women in firefighting has been subject to significant changes over the years; many ancient civilizations had firefighting groups which accepted women, but by the advent of organized firefighting in the 18th century, gender roles had changed such that firefighting was considered an unsuitable profession for women. Despite this, many women continued to work informally in firefighting roles, and in parts of the world were able to break into organized fire departments, especially during times of war. With the advent of the second-wave feminism movement in the 1960s, many women began to push for anti-employment discrimination legislation which would permit them to work as firefighters, which was often met with considerable opposition from often change-resistant fire services steeped in tradition. Today, women work in both support and frontline firefighting roles in both career and volunteer fire departments worldwide, and in many countries have held high-ranking positions such as fire chief or chief fire officer. Despite this, female firefighters continue to face significant challenges and discrimination not faced by male firefighters, including employment discrimination, misogynist and sexual harassment, and facilities and equipment which are inaccessibly designed; as a result, women generally make up fewer than 20% of total firefighters even in the countries where they are the most well-represented, especially in career departments.