The San Jose Fire Department Women’s Boot Camp filled quickly after opening, reflecting strong demand. Capt. Corey Condren launched the program in 2018 to increase the number of women in the SJFD. Participation grew from 50 in the first year to more than 120 this year, and organizers lowered the minimum age requirement from 18 to 16. Department leadership links the program to ongoing efforts addressing low representation of women firefighters. A 2020 Civil Grand Jury report cited a hostile work environment and recommended changes to better match county demographics. Recommendations included creating a new Firefighter (non-engineer) classification, lowering recruitment age, removing the Firefighter 1 certificate prerequisite, and reducing probation from 18 months to 12 months. The report surveyed nearly 1,500 firefighters and found women made up only 4% of firefighters, below a 17% target recommended by Women in Fire.
"Signing up for the San Jose Fire Department Women's Boot Camp was one of the hottest tickets in town, filling up shortly after the Saturday event opened. Capt. Corey Condren launched the program in 2018 in an effort to increase the number of women in the SJFD. Her efforts have paid off, growing from 50 participants in the inaugural year to more than 120 this year. The increase in interest also encouraged organizers to lower the minimum age requirement from 18 to 16."
""We've seen numbers grow across the Bay because of this event," Condren told San José Spotlight. "They build relationships and they're able to meet people that could potentially mentor them in the future. It's just giving them a platform to make that connection.""
"In 2020, despite being the largest fire department in the region, SJFD had the lowest number of female firefighters due to a hostile work environment, according to a Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury report. Condren, among others, set out to change the culture. The report on the lack of female firefighters offered recommendations for how the male-dominated profession could better reflect the county's demographics by hiring more women."
"Some of these recommendations included a new Firefighter (non-engineer) classification to be applied to all recruitments, lowering the recruitment age from 21 to 18, the removal of the Firefighter 1 certificate prerequisite and reducing the probationary period from 18 months to 12 months. The report surveyed nearly 1,500 firefighters across four departments and 96 fire stations in the county. It found that only 4% of firefighters were women - far below the 17% target recommended by Women in Fire, an advocacy group."
#women-in-firefighting #recruitment-and-hiring #workplace-culture #public-safety-training #san-jose-fire-department
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