Promotion process

Since moving away from the national peer assessed promotion process approximately 15 years ago, Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) around the country have started adopting varying assessment criteria from service to service, with the majority using frameworks and processes designed in ways that both reflect and continue to support stereotypes and the status quo. The result is that they disadvantage women, and favour traditional style white male leaders.

In some FRSs the process of ‘pooling’ results is common practice. Without a definitive list of successes, it is difficult to create a transparent system. As a result, this produces a continuous hoop that individuals who want to progress within the service, feel pressured to jump through, continuing until the next promotion takes place.

This gives management the ability to manipulate and change results to get the outcome they require, and means the FBU’s position can be undermined. It is widely reported that often those carrying out the promotion processes favour those that mirror the traits of the current leadership team, typically white, male and masculine. This effectively maintains the bias against women (and many men with a more balanced style). This process of ‘pooling’ candidates facilitates this.

This Conference calls on the Executive Council to conduct a national survey on current policies and practices FRSs use for promotion, including what happens with the results and with whom the information is kept, and statistics on applications and success rates of women and other under represented groups in promotion processes. The results of this survey are to be reported back through the FBU structures within 12 months of Conference 2019.