Female firefighters' experiences of discrimination and harassment: Implications for institutional gender policy

Abstract

Women in uniformed professions, including firefighters, are at high risk of being victims of institutional discrimination and sexual harassment. The aim is to describe the occupational, social, and psycho-emotional experience of female firefighters in Chile in situations of discrimination and harassment in the organization and formulate guidelines for creating institutional gender policies. Data collection was carried out through three focus groups. Eleven female firefighters participated. The information obtained was analyzed through content analysis, forming four themes. Difficulties were identified in women doing their jobs as firefighters. Simultaneously, the presence of situations of gender discrimination and institutional sexual harassment were identified, which causes emotional exhaustion in female firefighters. Our results highlight the need for effective implementation and dissemination of institutional policies that protect female workers from abusive situations. Guidelines are proposed for the development of such institutional policies.