The department like many others has designed their facilities (dorm, changerooms) and policies to support a mainly male workforce. We have since hired many more women, but did not enhance our facilities or create policy to address pregnancy, breastfeeding, or breast pumping at work. The facilities were also lacking enough dorm areas to properly support our growing workforce of women in Fire Suppression.

 

This initiative addresses the persistent underrepresentation of women and equity-deserving groups in Canada’s fire services, along with the lack of accessible leadership development, mentorship, and retention strategies tailored to their needs. The problem was evident in national and provincial statistics, echoed in member feedback, and confirmed through anecdotal evidence of exclusion, limited role models, and retention struggles. Each organization recognized that without a focused and collaborative approach to equity, meaningful progress in recruitment, advancement, and inclusive culture would continue to stall.