Download powerpoint - fire service research fitting-in

Stopping the drip
Looking for new ways to stop
the harassment of women
firefighters
Dr. Dave Baigent
GradIFireE, BA Hons, Phd
[email protected]
To hear the recorded version go to
www.fitting-in.com/melbourne/drip.WAV
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
Ongoing research on the how firefighters
develop and protect their (masculine)
identity
Background
– One more last working class hero (www.fittingin.com/baigent.pdf)
– Research of a (largely) unreconstructed
masculinity (represents a patriarchy at work Walby 1986, 1990)
– Developing an understanding of a source of
hegemonic masculinity (Connell 1987, 1995, 2005)
– Qualitative research using to produce findings
that firefighters might understand (Grounded Theory Glaser
and Strauss 1965Pro-feminist auto critique (Hearn 1994)
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
Research
(Baigent 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007)
that suggests
Firefighters have three core values/needs
A need to protect the public
A need to protect their watch (group
cohesion)
A need to protect their (masculine) identity
Put into practise through
Formal culture (institutional process)
Informal culture (group behaviour)
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
Informal Culture
Informal culture is pervasive
Firefighters need to prove that they belong – that they fit-in
(concepts of pre-destiny Weber 1971)
Newcomers on the watch are persuaded to fit-in
Power of the group/watch over the individual
Power of the watch to resist managers
Each watch at each station can have a slightly different
variable
In a fire service with 25 stations – 4 watches on each
station can lead to 100 variants of the informal culture
Every watch forms up under the umbrella of the union
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
Research that indicates the extent that male
firefighters harass women
First survey “Who Rings The Bell” (Baigent 1996) indicates that
over 60% of women firefighters have experienced harassment
Second survey “One Decade On” (Baigent 2006) indicates that
over 50% of women firefighters have experienced harassment
Findings supported by HMCIFS (2001), Johnson (2004),
Wright (2005)
Recognition by Hearn and Parkin (1987, 1995: 74) and Walby
(1990: 52)
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
What does the 2006 data say in reply to the
question about harassment?
119 (53.4%) of the respondents replied “Yes”
99 (44.4%) replied “No.” Five women fell into the fell into the group whose qualitative response
were recorded as “Comments indicate bullying/harassment has taken place.”
Frequency
Valid
Yes
No
Comments indicate
bullying/harassment
has taken place
Total
Missing
System
Total
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
Percent
Valid Percent
119
52.4
53.4
99
43.6
44.4
5
2.2
2.2
223
98.2
100.0
4
1.8
227
100.0
Cumulative
Percent
53.4
97.8
100.0
[email protected]
When asked “During first year did harassment
occur: frequently, occasionally, never?”
26.6% (50) of women answered “Frequently,”
25.5% (61) of women answered “Occasionally”
39.9% (75) of women answered “Never.”
Two women firefighters fell into the group whose qualitative response were recorded as “Comments
indicate bullying/harassment has taken place.”
Frequency
Valid
Frequently
Occasionally
Never
Comments indicate
bullying/harassment has
taken place
Total
Missing
System
Total
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
Percent
Valid Percent
50
22.0
26.6
61
26.9
32.4
75
33.0
39.9
2
.9
1.1
188
82.8
100.0
39
17.2
227
100.0
Cumulative
Percent
26.6
59.0
98.9
100.0
[email protected]
The Drip
Sonia:
I was excluded … It was instigated by
one person who was very influential
Sue:
Another member of the watch not
speaking to me or communicating
during drills - practical "jokes" eggs in
shoes wetting me etc
Sarah:
In the first year, just remarks
questioning my strength and ability to
do the job. But these comments were
always made by the same person with
an audience .. not one on one
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
Official support for women and recognition of
their sexual harassment
HMCIFS (1999) labels fire service as institutionally sexist
Bain Enquiry (2002) identifies unacceptable treatment of
women
Select Committee (2006) identifies failure to meet targets
for women firefighters
Chief Inspector of Fire Service (2006)
A worse situation than 20 years ago
Not the bottom of the league but in a different league
Minister for Fire makes it very clear that she expects more
women to be employed (Smith 2007)
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
Recognition of reality –
Women are being harassed
A number of interventions
Moral argument
Education
Sanctions
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
Moral argument
fairness for all
supported by FBU/employers
Failed
Education
All firefighters receive equality training
Failed
Sanctions
Strict discipline measures threatened
Failed
Analysis
Education
Provides the tools for men to avoid being caught
Threat
Increases secrecy -Drives harassment further underground
Increases group solidarity
Culture identifies the harasser as victim
Women afraid to speak out because of backlash
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
Structural/institutional or individuals?
Case studies
Four women who left the fire service
– Principal Manager
• challenged the culture just be being there
• marginalised by other principal managers throughout the fire service
• held her ground – worn down - took out a sexual harassment action
• weakened - settled out of court (including a silencing agreement)
– Watch manager
• successful career
• promoted and not accepted by peers
• looked for help – unsupported by managers – took out sexual harassment
action
• weakened - settled out of court (including a silencing agreement)
– Firefighter
• treated badly
• stood up against the men - worn down
• weakened – took out sexual harassment action – settled out of court
(including a silencing agreement)
– Student
• harassed whilst on work-placement
• kept secret
• spoke out after she left – will not now join the fire and rescue service
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
Analysis
Practise
Occasionally overt sexism
Mostly a drip drip (having a laugh)
Common factor
The group (watch) allow this behaviour
Outcomes
Victim – fit-in – stay -?
Victim – fit-in - resist – leave
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
What’s happening to the woman?
First caught in the headlights
– Woman able to recognise what was happening
– Believing once men accepted them it would get better
– Some women just accept this situation
Some still caught in headlights
– Wanting justice
– Doubting sanity
– Psychologically unable to continue
Could have been solved
– If the group had chosen this behaviour could have
been stopped
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
What’s happening in the organisation
Defend the victim
Until the point when they take legal action
Then
– Caught in headlights managers are transfixed by the need to
protect the organisation
– The perpetrator may be to blame but with a court case looming
until the organisation can buy her silence they must act against
the women
– After buying the women’s silence there is no evidence against
the perpetrator
Result
–
–
–
–
Little or no recognition of the problem
Avoiding or not even looking for the truth
Little or no attempt to take the moral high ground
Women learn the lesson that if they complain they will loose their
job
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
Firefighters attending to their needs
(Defending their identity and hegemony)
Firefighters believe they need to fit-in with each other to maintain the
cohesive team
Watch develops a collective memory and in some ways this makes each
watch unique
This collective memory (tradition) is protected by each cohort of firefighters
for the next generation
Handed down through homosociality – protected by bullying and
harassment
The individual fulfils their needs through the group (watch) they work with
The watch (their work) becomes their way of understanding the world
The individual in the fire service (through their informal culture) may be
attending to all five needs (Maslow 1987); including the potential to believe
they self-actualise
Hegemony will only end once people remove support
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
Men’s hierarchy’s
Culturally dominant
 Hegemonic masculinity
Complicit masculinities
Subordinated masculinities
Culturally less powerful
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com

women
[email protected]
Looking for a way of turning this situation
around
Something that
– Employers can gain from
– Helps the individual victim
– Helps the individual harasser
– Leaves the team intact
– Does not stop fitting-in
– Does not remove the healthy and antagonistic
relations that exist
– Something that breaks the circle of violence –
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
The circular question from Avon’s
women and leadership conference (2006)
Question
How do we increase the numbers of women firefighters
in the fire and rescue service?
Answer
Change the culture
Question
How do we change the culture?
Answer
Increase the number women firefighters in the fire and
rescue service
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
Concept of empowering the victim
Victim is only the victim because they are
trapped
Fire Service are also trapped
Fire Service’s inability to do anything also adds
to victim’s powerlessness
Women must fit-in or leave
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
Two ways forward
Formally
Senior Managers must recognise what is
happening
Understand the complicated cultural
arrangements
Recognise you cannot warm up the whole sea
Concentrate resources on one area
Junior managers must be trained to intervene
Informally
Spartacus moment
Someone must speak out to stop the drip
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
Stopping the drip
Looking for new ways to stop
the harassment of women
firefighters
www.fitting-in.com
Dr. Dave Baigent GradIFireE, BA Hons, Phd
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
To find research on the fire service visit
www.fitting-in.com
To share/publish your research on the fire
service send it to
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
Out takes follow
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
Complicated arrangements associated with
Hegemonic Masculinity
Connell: a social experience which establishes
the gender hierarchy as taken for granted
Hearn: a social phenomenon that ‘all’ men gain
from; reinforced by some men through violence
Walby: a social practise through which men
adopt a patriarchal position to dominate women
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
Every Social group must … secure for its individual and group membership:
The satisfaction of material and economic needs.
The maintenance of spontaneous co-operation throughout the organization
(Mayo 1949)
The apprentice learned to be a good workman, and he also learned to ‘get on
with’ his fellows
(Mayo 1949)
(See also Baigent 2006 Mayo)
Whilst Mayo provides considerable insight to the power of the group and this
insight can be operationalized from research in the fire service, what has
yet to be explored alongside Mayo’s understanding of how powerful the
group can be, is that the group does not want to change.
Leader at ground level (operational) may defer to maintaining group cohesion
over and above everything else.
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
Connell’s Gender Hierarchy
Connell suggests gender relations are far from
being ‘fixed’ ‘ or an assured thing.
Rather he sees it as an ongoing process and the
outcome of human agency
Masculinity is not a coherent subject that
academics are always comfortable in
generalising about
Masculinities are relational - constructed against
an other (traditionally femininity)
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.fitting-in.com
[email protected]