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Supporting women in the Service

You might remember the story in the news of the four-year-old girl who wished she was a boy so she could be a firefighter. She’d only seen men as firefighters in the books she’d read and the programmes she’d watched.

Only 14% of our staff are female. We know this number needs to change. We want it to change.

We recognise that society sadly hasn’t always given everyone equal opportunities. But we’re committed to making sure the Service is always an inclusive, supportive workplace for women.

We want women to feel encouraged and empowered to join the Service, supported with their application, and throughout their time with us.

A female firefighter with male colleagues standing by a fire engine

Supporting your application

Our Have A Go days are open to potential applicants, and allow you to come and ask questions and test out some of the practical tasks you’ll have to do as part of your role.

We know that the fitness part of the application process can be daunting. Our recruitment fitness sessions for female applicants are dedicated spaces for women to test out the exercises in preparation for the real thing.

We’ve also put together a handy eight-week exercise schedule for both men and women, so you can get in the best possible shape before your fitness test.

Female firefighter doing a fire exercise

Women's network

We want to break down the barriers that women have traditionally faced in a male-dominated workplace.

Our women’s network is a safe place for women to come together to share experiences, learn, mentor and inspire each other. We’ll continue to create a healthy, balanced and respectful environment so that every woman feels valued and supported.

The network is affiliated with the national organisation Women in the Fire Service, and we also have a menopause working group.

Women in the Fire Service also run free future firefighter events designed for people who dream of being a firefighter but need some help and advice to take the next steps.

A female firefighter on a ladder

Staff stories

Laura with her daughter

Laura's story

Laura's advice? "For anyone thinking of joining the fire service, go for it!"

Laura's story
Maria working at her laptop

Maria's story

Find out why joining the Fire Service was one of the best decisions Maria ever made.

Maria's story
Kirsty touching her baby bump

Kirsty's story

You don't have to choose between family and fire fighting. Hear from Kristy who explains how the Service has supported her.

Kirsty's story

Looking after our people

Find out more

Embracing equal opportunities

Find out more

Careers

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  • About us
      • Our people
      • Our fire stations
      • Fleet and equipment
      • How we respond to emergency calls
      • Community Risk Management Plan
      • Information and data transparency
      • What we spend
      • Our performance
      • Request information
      • Have your say
      • Developing our Service
      • Our environmental strategy
      • Equality and diversity
      • Work with us
      • Covid-19 response
      • Fire Authority
      • Fire, rescue and safety training (Red One)
      • Firefighters' pensions board
    • Newsroom
      • Incidents
      • Featured news
      • News
      • Events
      • Social media
    • Safety advice
    • Careers
        • Vacancies
        • Become an on-call firefighter
        • Become a wholetime firefighter
        • The role of a firefighter
        • The role of a fire control operator
        • Support staff roles
        • Looking after our people
        • Pay rates
        • Benefits
        • Request a careers talk
    • Education and young people
        • Early years, reception and year one
        • Primary schools
        • Secondary schools
        • Fire starting behaviour in children
        • Young drivers
        • Join the fire cadets
        • Work experience

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