Creating inclusion in the Fire Service

Dawn Whittaker is a Prospect member with a story. She is currently the Chief Fire Officer at East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, and extremely proud of her role there.

Like many Prospect members, Dawn has had a varied career: she worked in John Lewis and the county council before moving on to the Fire and Rescue Service.

She was seconded into the Fire and Rescue Service in Northamptonshire and what was supposed to be six months, quickly turned into 16 years. She started her career as an area manager and was quickly promoted to Assistant Chief Fire Officer and then Deputy Chief Fire Officer. Shen then joined the Home Office but 18 months later, returned to the Fire Service in East Sussex, where she remains today. “I loved the ethos of being back on the front line,” she says.

When her Chief Fire Officer retired, Dawn stepped into his shoes, “I’ve always had a clear view of myself as a leader and what I could bring to the sector.”

When Dawn first joined the service, she saw a clear need for reform. A need for more diversity, more variety, and less stigmatisation.

The fire service is expanding. There are more women, more black and minority ethnic firefighters, and yet there is still a huge stereotype of what a firefighter should be. When Dawn imagines what a firefighter should be, she says, “rather than brave and strong, I prefer resilient and fit. We’re not superhuman, we’re not heroes, we’re just people.”

Sexism and gender bias

Sexism and gender bias is a real issue: Dawn has seen it, and she has experienced it: “We need to change the views of the employers to make sure they can be supportive enough,” she says.

Despite the recognised term now being ‘firefighter’, many people including the media and press still refer to them as ‘firemen’. Dawn sees this as a step backwards in her fight for inclusivity in the fire service and puts it down to not just the press and media, but also older and retired colleagues having outdated views.

Some people have struggled with her success as the only ranked female officer in her department but Dawn doesn’t see this as the only hold-back: “Inclusion and diversity is much broader than gender. It’s really difficult to be a gay man, or to admit to having a disability such as dyslexia, and to ask for help and support.”

As a way of moving forward from this, the local government now have a group of members that they call the Inclusion Champions Network. This is chaired by Fiona Twycross from the London Fire Service and they have been looking at ways to ‘engage with employers to create a more representative and inclusive workforce.’

Work in the community

“I think it’s important to mix with other women in other sectors because at times you can become too insular,” says Dawn, who is part of a number of inspiring groups within her community. She is not only part of the Women in the Fire Service group but also a local business women’s forum.

Dawn also sees the importance of involving young people in her work, she has done lots of work at schools, and runs a mentoring scheme for young women ages 14-18.

Another project that she is excited about is her work with Lewes Football Club, who were at one stage, the only football club in the world to pay their professional women footballers the same as their men.

“We’ve got some really exciting things planned to do an exchange with some women footballer and some women firefighters and getting them to experience on a day, what it’s like to be in those roles.”

For three years now, East Sussex have run an annual event called, ‘It Starts with You’ which is about inspiring confidence and encouraging people to step out of their comfort zone, “It’s a privilege really to be able to contribute and give something back to those networks.”

Advice for young women

We asked Dawn what advice she would give to young women trying to start their career. “Be authentic, be yourself, we recruit different people with different perspectives and ideas because we want difference.”

Dawn calls it ‘fitting-in syndrome’ when people try and be what they think they are expected to be, but that’s not what employers are after.

“In a job where you are ‘dealing with other people’s worst days, it’s so important to know your limits and be aware of your personal resilience,” she added.

Why Prospect?

Dawn has always believed in having some sort of representation on her side. She was a student rep at university, and she joined the rep body as soon as she started in the fire service. “If you’re a passionate person like me, its not a bad thing to join an organisation that’s after the same thing.”

She also has a personal and professional interest in neurodiversity, and Prospect has allowed her to access tools and information to deliver back into her workplace.