WGS 201 WIN Paper.docx - 1 Running Head: FEMALE...

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Running Head: FEMALE FIREFIGHTERS FIGHT FOR CHANGE
Amanda Viken
WGS 201 Section E
October 5, 2018
Female Firefighters Fight for Change
To be a firefighter often requires integrity and strong dedication to continue when tasks
become strenuous. Being a firefighter or being in any workplace should not come at the cost of
being sexually harassed. This paper analyzes the continual cycle of harassment towards women
in the workforce, particularly within fire and rescue departments as well as the “glass wall”
barrier women have to deal with. In the article “‘They Can’t Ignore Us Anymore’: Female
Firefighters Allege Culture of Discrimination” in The New York Times , it is shown that sexual
harassment in the workplace has persisted, specifically within the fire and rescue departments
(Tavernise, 2018). With the gender gap of men to women in fire departments, the power
imbalance is inevitable (Stoehr, 2018). The workplace should be based on the intersections of
women and men (Stoehr, 2018). Some women who are sexual harassment victims come forward,
while 90% do not (Stoehr, 2018). But, in recent years, more women are opening up about their
experiences with sexual harassment, despite the risks.
In the article “‘They Can’t Ignore Us Anymore’: Female Firefighters Allege Culture of
Discrimination”, two battalion chiefs, Chief Kathleen Stanly and Chief Cheri Zosh, of the
Fairfax County Fire Department filed federal civil rights charges in May 2018. The two women
stated that “the department punished them for trying to oppose what they said was a long pattern
of sex discrimination and harassment” (Tavernise, 2018). Despite the department drawing a