The Sustainability of Australian Fire Agencies through Diversity.

The purpose of attracting, retaining and promoting women and people from diverse ethnic backgrounds is essential for Fire Service sustainability in Australia. Building capability through diverse workforce planning is no longer an issue of equity but rather an issue of sustainability.
In examining events in the private sector, the most successful organisations embed diversity principles into their culture and management systems. This facilitates a broader range of ideas and insights for decision making and policy development. It also benefits financially through savings in recruitment and training costs by attracting and retaining employees.
We need to recognise that workforce diversity presents a rich source of innovation and creativity that enhances organisational capability and performance. We must promote diverse, inclusive and collaborative operations in every aspect of our work.
For the last 5 years, Australian Fire Agencies have made genuine attempts to improve the diversity spectrum within their service. Targeted recruitment programs & development pathways have not only attracted and supported women, but improvements in workplace culture, flexible rostering & multi-skilled teams have benefitted both men and women.
Statistically however, the equity scorecard for gender & diversity is still poor. Since 2010, the national percentage of women in Urban Fire Agencies in Australia has increased from 1.5% to 3.5%. For those from culturally & linguistically diverse backgrounds, the percentage increase is even less.
It must become an organisational imperative to have leadership teams that actively recruit and promote points of difference as THE point of difference for sustainability. We need rigorous recruitment & talent identification and succession planning activities, with the objective of increasing female and ethnic representation in operational and senior management positions.