Halifax council closed gender gap but firefighters, police have a long way to go

Halifax regional council reached gender parity for the first time ever after Oct. 17’s municipal election.

But how is the rest of the municipality doing?

The team of directors with the municipality, for business units such as planning and development and transportation and public works, had already hit the mark, with four men and four women in those senior administrative jobs.

However, gender parity is far from a reality yet for Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency and Halifax Regional Police. 

Deputy Chief Dave Meldrum said about 12 per cent of Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency’s workforce are women and only six per cent of captains are women. 

Although HRFE didn’t hire firefighters for this year, the previous recruitments have been mostly men. 

“Since 2017, our career recruit classes have averaged 10 per cent representation by women,” Meldrum told The Chronicle Herald. 

The low female turnout doesn’t surprise a woman currently employed with HRFE. 

The female firefighter, who preferred to remain anonymous for job security, said the workplace environment for firefighters isn’t painted in the best light for women. 

“It’s not just here in Halifax, but across the country there aren’t many women that are firefighters,” she said. 

According to Statistics Canada, women made up roughly 4.4 per cent of firefighters across Canada in 2017. 

Before going through the training process to become a firefighter, the HRFE firefighter admitted she heard stories of workplace harassment that almost made her change her career path. 

“You wonder if you’re going to experience the same thing, all because of your gender,” she said. “But after being employed here now, I’m fortunate to not have had poor experiences like other women have.

“If women, who are more than capable of doing the same jobs as men, if not better I would argue, don’t apply for the jobs, then we won’t see a change in numbers, but I think we’re starting to see more women come out,” she said. 

Recently, a picture of an all-female fire crew in Florida went viral. It was a first for the Palm Beach Garden Fire Rescue Station 65 in its 57 years of existence, according to CBS. 

Meldrum said HRFE is “finalizing a five-year diversity and inclusion strategy and action plan.”

“Our goal in hiring will be to achieve firefighter recruit classes which are reflective of the communities we serve,” Meldrum said. 

Meanwhile, Halifax Regional Police’s more recent recruitment numbers are more in line with gender parity. 

In 2019, 12 men and 11 women were hired to the force, compared to the 23 men and five women in 2015. 

Of the 521 sworn officers with Halifax police, 113 have identified as women. 

“We have been working towards increasing the gender parity within the department and have been taking steps to encourage diversity throughout our hiring process,” Const. John MacLeod, HRP spokesman, said. 

Halifax regional council has since directed staff to “complete a variety of initiatives including the creation of a gender-inclusive municipality and provide advice to council on matters relevant to the municipal mandate,” HRM spokeswoman Maggie-Jane Spray said.

“These programs are slated to launch in 2021, with the two-year reviewing happening in 2023,” she added. “The municipality’s hiring practices continue to be approached from an inclusive and diverse lens, utilizing the equity lens throughout the recruitment process.”