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International Journal of Wildland Fire International Journal of Wildland Fire Society
Journal of the International Association of Wildland Fire
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

The wildfire within: gender, leadership and wildland fire culture

Rachel Reimer A C and Christine Eriksen https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2906-9680 B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Independent researcher, Canada, 408 4th St E, PO Box 2956, Revelstoke BC V0E 2S0, Canada.

B Australian Centre for Culture, Environment, Society and Space, School of Geography and Sustainable Communities, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: r.d.reimer@gmail.com

International Journal of Wildland Fire 27(11) 715-726 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF17150
Submitted: 2 October 2017  Accepted: 21 September 2018   Published: 2 November 2018

Journal compilation © IAWF 2018 Open Access CC BY-NC-ND

Abstract

This article examines findings from a 2016 study on gender and leadership within the British Columbia Wildfire Service (BCWS), Canada. The study utilised action research to facilitate an in-depth conversation among wildland firefighters about gender and leadership, and to explore participant-derived actions steps within the BCWS towards a perceived ideal future(s). The study found widespread occurrences of gender discrimination in the day-to-day practice of leadership, and that gender made a difference for wildland firefighters’ experiences of normative workplace culture. In their practice of leadership, participants described a trade-off between gender diversity and excellence. The article concludes that the practice of leadership within wildland fire must include open dialogue about, and strategic engagement with, gendered cultural norms within the workplace in order to dispel myths and latent beliefs, and support what firefighters in this study defined as ‘excellent leadership’.

Additional keywords: action research, Canada, social justice, workplace culture.


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