Q&A with the panellists | Diversity and inclusion in emergency management: from policy to practice

Celeste Young (Victoria University & Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC), Quinn Cramer (Queensland Fire and Emergency Services & Women and Firefighting Australasia) and Rachael Utumapu (Fire and Emergency New Zealand) chat with MC Loriana Bethune (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC) to answer viewer questions that we didn't get time for during the Diversity and inclusion in emergency management: from policy to practice online forum. The webinar took place on 2 December 2020. Watch the full online forum here. 

Questions:

• 0:00 Introduction
• 0:32 What are the best ways for male leadership to support women in the fire service?
• 4:07 Should governments have some oversight of inclusivity practice at the local brigade level?
• 11:00 Do you have any examples of what hasn't worked and how we can avoid these pitfalls?
• 12:40 How do we advocate for real change in policy being truly implemented?
• 16:59 In your research and conversations, what have you found to be the biggest barrier to meaningful inclusion?
• 17:54 Is it important to support new people coming into the organisation to question the norms so that they can feel safe?
• 21:45 What’s the importance of changing the language on the fireground to be equal and inclusive?
• 26:10 Do women have a higher percentage post-traumatic stress and incident stress within the sector, and how can this be managed better?
• 27:07 How do recruitment and retention policies create an organisation that women with disabilities want to join?
• 29:55 How do you recommend bringing the discussion of diversity and inclusion to the policy-makers when culturally there are strong gendered roles and ethnic homogeneity?
• 31:53 Can you share resources with clear, concrete examples of organisations doing well and not doing well in fostering diversity, inclusion and equity?

Access and download all the mentioned resources on the forum event page.