INTERIM REPORT ON GENDER DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION 2016 SURVEY · Prepared by Prof. Caroline Taylor and Angela Seach, People and Culture 3 | P a g e If this the first Gender Diversity

Prepared by Prof. Caroline Taylor and Angela Seach, People and Culture

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INTERIM REPORT

ON GENDER

DIVERSITY AND

INCLUSION 2016

SURVEY

July 2016

http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/

http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Background to the Gender Diversity and Inclusion Program

2. The Gendered nature of fire services

3. Summary of Survey content and distribution

4. Communication and dissemination of the Survey

5. A note on Methodology and Method

6. Descriptive Statistics from the GDI Survey

7. PTA Role and Remuneration

8. Feeling Respected and Valued with the Organisation

9. Women in CFA

10. Organisational Diversity and Workplace Culture

11. Bullying and Harassment

12. Sexual Harassment and Assault

13. Health Impacts

14. Repercussions

15. Who is reported in the survey as doing the bullying

16. Inadequate management responses.

17. Need for better education of management to be more affective in addressing workplace

conduct.

18. CFA as a place of interia

19. Values

19. Comment on the Survey tool

20. Concluding Comments.


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If this the first Gender Diversity and Inclusion survey carried out by CFA - that is telling in

itself! It is 2016 after all! (Female SR531)

INTERIM REPORT:

This document provides a work-in-progress report of the analysis of de-identified data from

the survey. It provides descriptive statistical analyses and qualitative data from the ongoing

thematic analysis of the qualitative data.

The report provides a brief summary of the background to the program and development of

the survey as well as a snapshot of relevant literature for the purpose of scene setting. We

also articulate the methodological framework and method applied.

This report is based on the information and words provided by more than half of the

organisations PTA staff. It therefore represents the experiences and views of staff and not

the interpretation or personal views of the authors. Excerpts are provided in whole where

possible or with enough detail to ensure accurate context. We are grateful to staff for

committing time and effort to complete the online survey.

1. BACKGROUND TO THE GENDER DIVERSITY AND INLCUSION PROGRAM:30

CFA’s workforce can be categorised into 4 groups. These are:

1. Paid Operational;

2. Professional, Technical and Administrative (PTA);

3. Executive; and

4. Volunteers.

The Fire Service Review (FSR) and the subsequently announced VEOHRC review have put

the spotlight on gender diversity within the fire services. For many years CFA has publicly

stated a commitment to diversity and yet over the last 10 years our gender diversity has

remained static.

While some research has been conducted by CFA or on its behalf, that research has typically

been externally and operationally focussed – that is, we have sought to understand what

attracts or detracts from a career or volunteer firefighting role for women. While these are

valid questions, we have not sought to understand how gender impacts on the experiences


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of our Professional, Technical and Administrative (PTA) staff or on our senior executive. This

is a significant problem for the organisation as we know that gender diversity in all

disciplines and at all levels (including the most senior) improves organisational performance.

However, prior to the release of the FSR, the newly appointed CEO Lucinda Nolan, with

support of the also newly appointed n Chief Officer Joe Buffone identified gender diversity

and inclusion as a priority area of organisational cultural change to be addressed. The

subsequent findings and recommendations of the FSR identified a disturbing and

unacceptable culture of bullying and harassment amongst Fire Services, along with a

profound lack of diversity and gender equity.

To this end, the Workplace Culture, Diversity & Inclusion Taskforce was established and a

team assembled to focus on gender diversity and inclusion. Staff Angela Seach and

Professor Caroline Taylor were tasked to undertake a range of activities that would provide

evidence-based information and strategic information to help inform and shape

organisational change. Under the banner of the Gender Diversity and Inclusion Team (GDI

Team) we designed and commenced a program of evidence-based initiatives.

One of the first key areas of work directed by Lucinda Nolan, has been to plan and conduct a

range of forums and interviews with staff across the organisation.

For PTA staff, this meant conducting a carefully developed Gender Diversity and Inclusion

Survey (GDI Survey) conducted amongst non-operational (PTA) staff. Although PTA staff at

CFA represent various professional disciplines such as human resources and financial

management, legal and governance, communications and marketing, the representation of

men and women at CFA does not reflect industry norms. At CFA, our female PTA staff are

significantly over represented in the lower administrative roles and under-represented in

the senior professional and technical roles (see Table 1).

(Table 1.)

Gender PTA 1 -3 PTA 4 – 5 PTA 6 - 7

Male 20.8% 50% 68.5%

Female 79.2% 50% 31.5%

The purpose of the survey was to understand why this differential representation is

occurring and to gather data on the experiences of PTA staff working at CFA, including any

perceptions, views and experiences they have relevant to gender equality and diversity

within the organisation. The survey was anonymous and only aggregated data will be used

to inform any policy/system level changes that need to be made.


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2. The Gendered Nature of Fire Services:

In recent years scholarly and sector focus on lack of gender diversity in fire services with

particular emphasis on female fire fighters. Less attention has been paid to non-operational

females working in fire and emergency services. The traditional masculinist culture that

dominates organisations like fire services is well documented, however the work of De Haas

provides a useful heuristic framework to better understand the particularly virulent strain of

masculinist culture that is emblematic of organisations like the military, police and fire

services.

According to De Haas (2009) Numerical and Normative dominance refers to an

organisational or occupational cultural where traditional masculinist conventions such as

aggression, risk taking, sexist attitudes, sexual bravado and emotional self-regulation are

valued and where feminine traits are devalued. This approach builds on Gruber’s psycho-

social concept of ‘double dominance’.

The link between numerical and normative male dominance and gender harassment has

been established empirical research. Together they are predictors of gender and sexual

harassment and the ‘denigration’ of feminine behaviour and pronounced traditional gender

roles in the kinds of work performed. These organisational settings propagate and

perpetuate cultural norms of male dominance and the aforementioned behaviours making

them resistant to change because the concept of ‘double’ dominance enables the

organisation to negate challenge. As such, gender harassment and sexual harassment are

explicably bound up within these organisations since men form the critical mass within the

organisation and have thus developed, perpetuated and maintained dominance both in

sheer numbers and in organisational culture.

Qualitative study by Baigent (2001) on UK firefighters identified FF as extremely

masculinised and that aspiring FF ‘conquer’ their space and placement in the male

dominated culture and that senior FF act as ‘gatekeepers’ to an informal hierarchy.

Accepting ‘double dominance’ as the established culture within fire services heightens the

omnirelevance of gender and diversity and its institutional life through policy and procedure

and lived experiential life through staff. Moreover, given the dominance of this culture it

makes sense to understand gender diversity and inclusion across the scope of the

organisation rather than confining the focus to operational staff. It is this standpoint that

has given rise to the focus on all staff and volunteers across CFA.

3. Summary of Survey content and distribution.

The online survey comprises 5 sections: 1) Work History; 2) Education Level; 3) My Work

Environment; 4) Bullying and Harassment; and finishing with an open question inviting


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respondents to complete the sentence 5) ‘what does Equity mean to them’, asking for their

gender and inviting them to provide any further comment. Each section has specific

questions or statements relevant to that section with Section 4 providing text boxes

enabling respondents to elaborate experience of bullying and/or harassment and any

further comment at the end of that section.

Sections 3 and 4 utilised statements to measure level of agreement on a Likert Scale

response from strongly agree to strongly disagree (see Appendix ??)

We determined that open text boxes inviting comments would not be character/word

limited. The reason was to demonstrate respect to respondents since they were being

invited to expand on work experiences relevant to the survey and it was felt that setting a

character/word limit could be viewed or understood as limiting voice and expression.

Trialling: The survey tool was reviewed among a small team of staff and later trialled in a

secure online environment to test for online and data integrity as well as content relevance

and readability.

The survey was designed to be confidential and anonymous. The official letter of invitation

guaranteed both aspects. Like many online surveys respondent ‘consent’ was articulated at

the start of the survey and respondents ‘thanked’ for their time at the time of completion

and submission of the survey. (see below)

4. Communication and dissemination of the Survey:

Welcome Message to respondents: By completing

this survey you consent to CFA using all the

information you provide as part of an aggregated (all

together) report. No information that identified you

personally is collected. All information provided in

this survey is confidential and anonymity is

guaranteed.

End Message: Thank you for taking the time to

complete this survey, your feedback will be

invaluable in shaping CFA initiatives going forward.


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The GDI Team drafted a letter on behalf of the CEO inviting PTA staff to be complete the

forthcoming survey and take part in the planned staff forums that would be held across the

state for female and male staff. This letter of invitation was distributed to all PTA staff on

Tuesday, May 17 2016. The survey went live Wednesday afternoon, May 18 and close COB

Thursday, June 2nd. CFA IT provided an email list of all PTA staff to enable a bulk email to be

sent for the letter of invitation and email invitation for the online survey. An email list of

1009 PTA staff was generated from IT. The survey went live on Wednesday at 1pm.

Soon after the survey went live, several emails were received by the GDI Team from staff

seeking reassurance that the survey was confidential or expressing concern that the survey

was not confidential because on the basis the invitation to participate was delivered by

email. The team worked with the IT programmer to communicate specific information via a

return email, making clear the design of the survey was such that email invitations were

separate to the survey host which was external to CFA. One staff member emailed the team

to advise their strong desire to take part I the survey but were extremely anxious that their

comments could mean they were identified and would therefore suffer repercussions.

Notwithstanding this email of self-exclusion based on fear of having others recognise them

through the content or language of their response, a number of respondents who

completed and submitted online surveys also expressed feelings of ‘fear’ and ‘concern’

either that the guarantee of anonymity would not be honoured or that the sharing of their

responses through a report may cause others to identify them and expressed real concerns

of negative repercussions. One survey respondent said that they knew of a staff member

who have previously completed a survey only to have their identity correctly guessed by

other staff who then ‘targeted’ that staff member. As such, before the survey was even off

the ground, the atmosphere of mistrust and apprehension amongst staff was telling.

The survey closed on Thursday June 2nd at 5pm. On Thursday June 16 the Diversity Team

sent a courtesy update email to all PTA staff advising them of the response rate to the

survey and that detailed analyses was underway and that a further, more detailed update

would follow in the near future.


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4.1 Table 2 below details the quantity of PTA emails identifying 2 dead emails and a

further 33 staff on some form of leave past June 2nd which is the closing date of the survey.

The table gives a snapshot of the response rate at the close of the survey.

(Table 2)

Male Female

Initial email qty 394 616

Initial email qty total 1010

% of PTA staff 38.81% 60.59%

Dead emails 2 4

On leave past 2 June 10 23

Approx eligible 382 589

Approx total eligible 971

% of eligible 39.34% 60.66%

Complete responses 160 312

% responses 29.09% 56.73%

Total responded 550

Total % responded 56.64%

Total incomplete 84

Incomplete responses 2 4

% of incomplete 2.38% 4.76%

Total % incomplete 8.65%

Notes:

1 Figures only approximate due to lack of definitive

information in auto response emails and quality of initial

data received.


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2 The breakdown of % of incomplete only if gender

specified in incomplete record.

5. A note on Methodology and Method

Analyses of this data has adhered to the strict methodology in order to secure and maintain

credibility and reliability from the beginning. A discussion and explanation of the

methodology applied is provided here.

The general framework for this project comprises a range of specific, qualitative and

quantitative, data-collection and data-analysis methods that provided for triangulation at

the levels of researchers, methods, data sources and over time. The approach also involves

a theoretical orientation of Action Research. This particular project employs qualitative and

quantitative methodologies of survey, focus groups and in-depth interviews with data

collection analysed using the classic and widely used principles and procedures of the

Grounded Theory Method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1990, 1998), Meaning

Generation Tactics (Miles & Huberman, 1994) and Grid Analysis Method (Hurworth, 2000).

At the risk of oversimplifying these complex methodologies, it is worth briefly explaining

them as employed here since they are not always well understood even by otherwise

experienced researchers, and especially researchers who are accustomed to

quantitative/statistical methods.

Grounded Theory Method (GTM) procedures use open coding, axial coding and selective

coding to generate or understand the meaning of raw data through inductive reasoning.

Open coding refers to reducing a data mass to sensible and manageable categories by

noting commonalities and assigning labels to various data bits. This process occurs as the

first layer of analyses.

Axial coding refers to examining the open coded categories for connections and disparities

among the data, which also helps identify new codes and ideas (usually said to ‘emerge’

from the data). This process involves a deeper level of analytical engagement with the data,

sometimes regarded as a deeper more nuanced reading of textual data which may have a

number of themes within the one narrative response.

With selective coding researchers concentrate on larger themes or concepts developed

from earlier inductive analyses. Notably, shifting from open to axial to selective coding is a

process of moving up the conceptual abstraction ladder. In undertaking these coding

activities, GTM researchers employ a Constant Comparative Method, which refers to cycles


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of iteration back and forth to data from within and among cases – or other units of analysis

such as subjects’ responses - to check for supportive and contrary evidence in relation to

emerging ideas and insights. This method is reminiscent of John Stuart Mill’s famous, time-

tested methods of agreement and difference (Neuman & Wiegand, 2000). Whilst the

method of agreement looks at what is common within and across cases, that of difference

searches for what is distinctive.

Combined, these procedures allow identification of consistencies and inconsistencies within

a given case, plus dissimilar cases and similar ones, as well as sub-types within a category of

cases. GTM relies fundamentally on replication logic, where if evidence in one case is

repeated in another then it is potentially generalisable to other similar cases. In short, GTM

is an approach that induces from collected data one or more concepts or hypotheses that

can be employed to construct new theory. This approach is in direct contrast to a deductive

reasoning approach that seeks to test hypotheses drawn from an existing theory or

conceptualisations.

In regard to the Meaning Generation Tactics (MGT) employed, counting refers to noting the

frequency of data/items at any level of abstraction. Comparison and contrast seeks to

discover what data are common and what are different, for instance among the narratives

or more broadly across the cases. Clustering refers to “the process of inductively forming

categories, and the iterative sorting of things … into those categories” (Miles & Huberman,

1994, p. 248). As Miles and Huberman point out, clustering can be applied to many kinds

and levels of qualitative data, including events (eg bullying or harassment), individual

actors/groups (staff, management), processes (reporting policies; investigations; reports),

and cases (examining case/complaint files). The tactic of ‘subsuming particulars into the

general’ refers to collecting together data into more general ideas, usually on a comparative

basis. This essentially refers to a higher conceptual level of abstraction than that involved in

the former tactics. Factoring provides a definable construct (or part of one) that has

potential explanatory power. This involves searching for conceptual patterns of meaning in

the data by constantly asking what similar and dissimilar data items might indicate not only

at an abstract level, but also “in terms of a smaller number of unobserved, usually

hypothetical variables” (Miles & Huberman, 1994, p. 256). Each of these tactics is a specific

means of inducing meaningfulness from otherwise raw data that is readily used in concert

with GTM coding. Altogether these tactics allow identification of patterns of data and

associated meanings, and thus comprise the particulars in current research use of the

pattern-matching technique (Eisenhardt, 1989; Hurworth, 2000; Miles & Huberman, 1994;

Trochim, 1989; Yin, 1994).

In essence, the methodology applies critical layers of multiple, line by line reading of data, in

this case the survey data, to generate codes and themes which are then refined and

through Critical Discourse Analysis. Critical Discourse Analysis is a complex form of research

which is generally agreed to involve the cultural aspects of language and human


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communication, and not simply accepting at face value nominal or obvious meanings (Dijk,

1998). It involves a deep level of engagement with the data and a form of content analysis

that requires examination of the contextual aspects of a message, not just the message

itself. This qualitative analysis procedure relies upon specific methods of close, line-by-line

reading (Charmaz, 2006a, 2006b) and researcher triangulation (Miles & Huberman, 1994;

Minichiello, Aroni, Timewell, & Alexander, 1990; Minichiello, Sullivan, Greenwood, & Axford,

2004; Moran-Ellis, Alexander, Cronin, Dickinson, Fielding, Sleney, & Thomas, 2006; Patton,

1990; Perlesz & Lindsay, 2003; Richardson, 2000).

This process has particular relevance when data around the same topic/problem is being

collected through various methods, as is the case in this project. The methods employed

facilitate and optimise rigour, credibility, dependability and transferability of findings and in

doing so can sustain external scrutiny and have greater validity (Strauss & Corbin, 1990,

1998).

NOTE:

Anonymous data used in this report is identified with the initial SR denoting Survey

Respondent with an accompanying number assigned to survey responses.


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6. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS from the GDI SURVEY:

What follows is a statistical analyses of specific questions and statements from across the

five sections of the survey. The majority of respondents identified HQ Burwood as their

work location (45.45%) and the majority of those located at Burwood HQ had not ever

worked in any other location.

6.1 PTA LEVELS FOR STAFF:

Question 4 in Section One asked respondents their current PTA level. Table 3 is the PTA level

for Female respondents and Table 4 is the PTA level for Male respondents

Table 3. Female Staff

What is your current PTA Level?

PTA 1 1.92%

PTA 2 12.18%

PTA 3 25.00%

PTA 4 33.65%

PTA 5 15.06%

PTA 6 7.37%

PTA 7 4.81%

No answer 0 0.00%

Table 4. Male Staff

What is your current PTA Level?

PTA 1 1.25%

PTA 2 6.388%

PTA 3 15.00%

PTA 4 30.00%

PTA 5 20.00%

PTA 6 17.50%

PTA 7 9.38%

No answer 0 0.00%


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In keeping with the organisational statistics (Table 1) Tables 3 and 4 affirm this trend which

as we know replicates the stark role and rank disparity between male and female

operational staff and is emblematic of the gender structure within fire services. This survey

has enabled this disparity in PTA employment to be further problematized through rich

qualitative data gathered from the survey as well as anlaysis of the education levels of staff

by comparison to their roles.

6.2 EDUCATION:

Education attainment and PTA Levels

Question 7 in Section Two of the survey asked respondents to identify their highest level of

education. Results show similar levels of educational attainment between male and female

staff with female staff having slightly higher post-secondary school education (see Tables 5

and 6).

Table 5.

Highest Educational Attainment for Female PTA Staff

Year 7 to Year 10 (or equivalent) 5.00%

Year 11 (or equivalent) 4.38%


TAFE Certificate 16.25%

Diploma 18.75%

Degree 25.62%

Post Graduate Certificate 20.00%

Doctorate 0.32%

Table 6.

Highest Educational Attainment for Male PTA Staff

Year 7 to Year 10 6 1.92%



TAFE Certificate 16.99%

Diploma 21.79%

Degree 25.00%


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Post Graduate Certificate 17.31%

Doctorate 0.32%

Male staff with a Degree qualification occupied more senior roles than females with degree

qualifications with the highest concentration in the upper level bands: 34% in Level 5; 27%,

Level 6; 24.39% Level 4 and 7% in Level 7. There were no males with a degree in Levels 2.

In contrast, female staff with a degree were over-represented in Level 4 Roles (41.03%) with

an equal 19% occupying Levels 3 and Level 5 and 6.41% in Level 2. Just 11% of female staff

with a degree were employed in Level 6 Roles and 2% in Level 7 roles.

Moreover, male staff with Year 12 as their highest educational attainment occupied more

senior roles with (20%) and (7%) in Levels 5 and 6 respectively compared to just (3%) of

female staff with the same educational attainment in a Level 5 role and no position beyond

that level.

Tables 5 and 6 indicate near educational parity between male and female staff with female

staff having slightly high levels of post-graduate qualifications although organisation figures

show, and the survey bears out, female staff occupy lower PTA levels than their male

counterparts.

Female Education Level 7 Level 6 Level 5 Level 4 Level 3 Level 2

Uni Degree

2% 11% 19% 41% 19% 6.41%

Year 12 0% 3% 26% 40% 30%

Male Education Level 7 Level 6 Level 5 Level 4 Level 3 Level 2

Uni

Degree

7% 27% 34% 24% 7% 0%

Year 12 7% 20% 33% 27% 7%

Survey results show that female staff members have slightly higher levels of

education than male staff, with the majority having a TAFE certificate or

graduate degree.

However this is not reflected in remuneration through PTA levels. For

example 34% of male staff with a graduate degree are employed in Level 5

Roles, 27% of men in Level 6 roles and 7% in Level 7 roles.

Female staff with a graduate degree are over-represented in level 4 Role

(41%) followed by 19% in Levels three and five. Just 11% of women with a

degree occupied a Level 6 role and 2% in a Level 7 Role.


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When asked in the survey level of agreement with the statement that more women than

men work in lower clerical roles the vast majority of female respondents responded

affirmatively with 54.35% strongly agreeing and 36.59% agreeing. Male respondents were

somewhat similar with 49.06% agreeing and 20.13% strongly agreeing to this statement.

Concomitantly, the statement that men are more likely to work in middle and senior

management drew 38.77% ‘strong agreement’ and 36.59% ‘agreement’ from female

respondents with slightly less affirmation overall from male respondents with 10.06% in

strong agreement and 45.91% in agreement that male staff occupied more senior roles than

women in CFA.

In a similar vein, the majority of female respondents ‘disagreed’ (32.37%) or ‘strongly

disagreed’ (16.63%) with the statement that women have the same opportunities for

promotion as males however the majority of male respondents ‘agreed’ (33.12%) or

‘strongly agreed’ (14.47%) that women have the same opportunities as males for

promotion, with 22% of both male and female respondents unsure, indicating a level of

gender blindness to the organisational structure.

7. PTA ROLE AND REMUNERATION:

Written responses in the survey critically highlighted this disparity and while the majority of

comments came from females a number of males acknowledged gender barriers to

advancement for women. Female respondents voiced considerable concerns about what

they perceived as a significant gender barriers for female staff in CFA highlighting a

masculinist culture that was not supportive of women, not merit based and ignored or

devalued the skillsets and educational qualifications, experience and expertise of women in

the organisation.

Many staff expressed a view that position descriptions did not match skill set and

remuneration citing various things such as role requirements, complexity of tasks, level of

responsibility and judgement decisions in lower level roles. Female participants in particular

voiced these concerns with suggestions this problem was linked to the devaluing of women

in the organisation leading to a sense of exploitation in the work they performed. Given the

fact that the majority of female staff occupy lower administration levels, despite

educational qualifications, it is not surprising that women were cognisant of this disparity

and took the opportunity to raise these concerns in the survey. The following comments are

representative of the overall tenor of views regarding education/qualifications and equity in

role and renummeration:

Within CFA, there is currently a significant pay difference in what female and male

employees receive especially in the specialist roles. From my own experiences, female


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employees are paid at a lower pay scale. Limited opportunities to enable professional

development….and no recognition received for significant projects that have been

completed or achieved to a high standard which has a direct benefit to CFA. (Female

SR 383)

I was keen to work for a government agency a [professional colleague] encouraged

me to apply at CFA, because "CFA needs more women". I came to realise that I was

staggeringly over-qualified and experienced for the entry-level role I was expected to

perform, and almost immediately sought progression. Through hard work and

dedication I have been able to move up two levels, but I am now feeling uncertain of

my future and feel that my future opportunities may well be limited in an

[organisation] that does not appear to value my tertiary education and my now years

of on-the-job experience. This concern festers as I have seen it happen while I’ve been

at CFA; intelligent, hard-working and dedicated women who have come in to CFA and

have been left behind and forced to seek employment outside of CFA in order to fulfil

their potential, when they individually, and the organisation could benefit

significantly from it.(Female SR530)

….the organisational culture and the current structure of CFA favours progression for

men over women. In my experience within CFA, women seem to hit the 'glass ceiling'

despite their experience and education on a number of fronts. (Female SR300)

I joined the organisation over qualified for the position but lacking some experience.

I was bought in at graduate level, but soon given work which was at least 2 PTA

levels above my pay scale. This continued for a year, and after much pressing from

me, I have been temporarily moved to backfill a PTA level 4 one level up from current.

This is despite there being a more appropriate PTA level 5 role available in my team

for the past few months, which has not been backfilled, but which I would be

qualified to do. This role is now being advertised externally, despite the fact that

there are three women already in the organisation which would be qualified for the

role. There have been many women in my team who have been moved around in

roles with no consultation and which in many cases have led to demotions in salary

or status. This has not happened to any men in our team, and has been a blatant

manipulation of the restructure process to the advantage of some of the men in our

team. We have lost several women employees over the past 12 months, all of whom

moved on in order to further their careers. I have never been formally consulted on

my career aspirations, and more recently am beginning to realise that I am only

being considered for things which management need me to do. I have worked hard

to prove myself and have made a significant contribution to improve my area since

joining just over a year ago. I am already considering leaving the organisation, as I

can see that I have no control over my career advancement, and that I will not be


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given equal access to opportunities under my current managers. I find this

disappointing, as what CFA needs is more women, not less. (Female SR207)

PTA staff are the backbone of this organisation yet have taken a back seat when it

comes to parity in the workplace. The recent restructure is classic of this. It has had a

major effect on PTA staff (especially psychologically). We did not see our paid fire

fighters supporting or sticking up for us then and now we have to endure them

covering CFA logos at our integrated fire stations. CFA is so much more than them!!

Although not a huge problem in my District I know from experience that women in

many other District offices' are still subject to archaic ideas on gender roles and

stereotyping by predominantly male senior management. As a female manager of

staff myself (and most of the new District 'Business' Managers are) we are only

remunerated at PTA4 unlike other colleagues who are PTA5. There is no parity across

the organisation.(Female SR215)

As a woman working in a male dominated environment, I feel I have had to work

twice as hard to be taken seriously. Senior staff will always gravitate to the males in

my team, even though I may be more experienced and considered a subject matter

expert.(Female SR33)

CFA is a diverse organisation with many opportunities for advancement of career

firefighters but limited opportunity for other professionals within the organisation.

There is opportunity for operational roles to be performed by qualified and

competent PTA staff members, however industrial bodies demands prevent qualified

PTA personnel in performing these much need roles in areas that have limited

resources and limited access to career firefighters. An example of this PTA staff

member cannot perform the roles of a level 3 operations officer in an IMT even

though that PTA member has completed the necessary training and evidence

gathering to be assessed as competent to perform the role.(Male SR197)

I also wish to raise discrepancies in pay levels. A huge part of my role is providing

"high level advice" to managers way above my pay scale, which they can act upon, or

ignore. I am also aware that other field based advisors, in a different area within our

broader team are paid at PTA5, whilst we are remunerated at PTA4. It does challenge

the sense of equity and fairness.(Female SR433)

Start paying PTA staff what they are really worth, for the contribution they make, the

responsibility they take on and the service and loyalty they provide! (Female SR245)

PTA levels should be reviewed for all roles. Many job descriptions, responsibilities and

requirements of roles have developed and increased over time but still have the same

title and PTA level. (Female SR110)


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“Equity in my workplace is quite frankly meaningless. My line manager is awesome

but she doesn't have a penis so her voice is drowned out by the mansplaining (sic) she

endures. I was once in a senior role as [seconded] [and] am now in a junior role. I can

see quite clearly how poorly PTA staff, mostly women, are treated. I have never

worked harder in my life and yet paid appallingly for the responsibility I have. We are

not consulted about change yet our colleagues with penises simply lodge a grievance

and sulk til (sic) they get their way. If we did that we'd get howled down and treated

worse.” (Female SR245)

In relation to the workload and responsibilities being comparable to pay grade -

under the re-structure and revised roles the District Support Coordinators have taken

on financial delegation, accountability and responsibility, staff management and so

on - at a PTA 4 pay grade! We are asked to be managers but all of CFA’s leadership

literature, professional development etc. is aimed at PTA 5 and above. We have gone

into these roles with minimal handover and support/training opportunities for the

role is minimal. (Female SR540)

A review of educational standards across all managers must be undertaken. In 99%

of organisations in the public and private sector, this is a key criteria when employing

a person. This is one step that will help to reduce the "jobs for mates" mentality and

sends all staff the right message, that if you have the qualifications and you work

hard, you will be rewarded. Again CFA is the winner and this will be an important

message that will help rebuild a broken culture. (Male SR 185)

“With gender equality, I certainly feel like I have had to fight that bit harder to be

recognised as being able to contribute to CFA as a female.” (Female SR547)

The majority of respondents highlighted comparison between operational and non-

operational staff with regard to role and remuneration as well as standards of behaviour,

treatment and equity issues that impact PTA staff. The following comments for this section

refer specifically to role and remuneration:

It is a common perception amongst PTA staff that we are third class citizens, are not

valued and that permanent fire-fighters/Ops are treated better overall - a clear

example of this is the fact that Ops are being offered a 19% pay rise of which they

have already received 5%, whereas the PTA are only being offered 9.4% - and no pay

increase in line with CPI for over two years. Clear inequity and disparity

demonstrated about how the two groups are considered yet we are supposed to be

one CFA! We are an important workforce and CFA could not function without us!

(Female SR 437)


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No equality in learning, development or succession planning for PTA staff in

comparison to Operational Staff. I don't see this as the fault of Managers as budgets,

time etc are limited, therefore the organisation must meet the agreements (EBA, etc)

they are bound to and the rest unfortunately either miss out or opportunities are

limited. Interesting how items such as the EBA negotiations often end up in 'Fair

Work Australia', though when PTA agreements are negotiated the % increase over 'x'

years is not 'Fair' and the same as the other agreements made for other personnel.

Position Descriptions and Salary levels whether PTA or EBA staff are developed based

on level of skill, knowledge and expertise, therefore yearly % increases should be the

same (and also for super) so they are fair and equitable across the organisation.

Again interesting that a government organisation can allow this to occur. There are

EBA staff working in PTA type roles yet they still receive conditions outlined under an

operational agreement. Lots of views and culture to be changed here, every person in

a workplace, community, family, etc makes a worthwhile contribution, time for

respect from all parties for each and every contribution. As a whole organisation we

have a lot of work to do. Lucky we are all so passionate about supporting our

community, that's what keeps us here. Wouldn't it be good if we had the same

passion and respect for our organisation and all involved as a whole. (Female SR457)

There is a huge divide between PTA staff and Operational staff with regards to

respect, opportunity and remuneration. I feel that my opinion can be easily dismissed

and this dismissiveness in the long run limits the ability for CFA to grow with the

times and prosper into the future. EBA problems with Ops negating terms on my

employment through there EB negotiations will always ensure that I am not an equal

in the workplace! (Female SR467)

I also strongly believe that alot of the work I am doing is well above my PTA level and

that there is inequity in PTA roles and responsibilities…I know several PTA positions

with significantly less responsibility - in both management and the tasks they perform

[than those undertaken by other staff at the same level] .(Female SR486)

There is a separation between PTA staff and operation staff. In 2009 community

safety was blamed for the Black Saturday Fires, The comment was made by an

operation member, that they had to clean up another mess made by community

safety. To resolve the issues that have occurred and continue to occur in CFA, the

state government need to put in place an administrator. CFA is on the edge of

imploding. There are very few females in management positions, there are no female

DCO or ACO. Operational staff do not seem to be able to recognise that they CAN

NOT provide support or response without the support of PTA staff, as a result of this,

less and less PTA staff are willing to provide support to operations during summer or

incidents. Over the passed [sic] three years during the COFT process CFA destroyed


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the goodwill of PTA staff, this was due to the manner in which ELT conducted

themselves. (Male SR265)

Whilst I have only been with CFA for a few months, I have made some interesting

observations over this time. Having come from state government departments, I

have been used to a workplace which is much more gender balanced, though still

challenged by a lack of gender equity in senior leadership roles. The breadth and

depth of gender imbalance in CFA - from F&EM Operations staff, L&V Instructors and

through to District Group committees (DPCs and associated Sub Committees) is

marked. As an illustration, walking into a recent DPC meeting I was struck by the

faces in the room - of the 25 or so people, all but two (myself and the minute taker)

were middle aged and over white males. Looking through organisational charts and

talking to a range of staff, it does appear that many PTA female staff are in lower

level (1-3) more administrative roles. Similarly, the vast majority of Operations staff

(OOs and OMs) are male. Given that much of CFA's structure and positions are based

around operational knowledge, skills and experience (as a result of quite stringent

industrial agreements), the opportunity for females to move into these roles is

necessarily limited and therefore reliant on new recruits or the difficult to access

lateral entry process. And even within some support Directorates, OM roles have

been built into line management structures, removing any progression opportunities

for PTA staff. Recruitment of females in both operational and support roles is clearly

needed, however I am not confident that recruitment and onboarding processes are

adequate to enable and support this. Equally, the prevailing view that career

development and investment in learning and development opportunities is prioritised

for Operations staff frequently appears to be at the expense of PTA staff. Given the

traditional view that CFA = Operations, I sometimes feel that I am viewed as less

credible given that I have no operational experience, nor particular interest in

performing operational roles. In addition, given the seeming lack of interest or

willingness to explore the good practice that might exist beyond our organisation and

even the wider emergency management sector, I am unsure if the capability and

quite different perspectives that I bring is actually valued - to the point that I often

feel like I'm from a foreign place and don't quite belong at CFA. (Femlae SR431)

As an organisation we need to work out ways to better integrate the workforce

between Ops Staff and PTA staff, PTA staff need to be recognised for the skills they

bring to the organisation. PTA staff are not just here to be the 'admin' staff they can

contribute in so many different ways, however I don't feel this is supported by some

ranks within the Ops Teams. I feel the Chief Officer is supportive of this concept

however, it just doesn't necessarily filter through the ranks. (Male SR226)

.


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[Operational] staff should not refer to people as their PTA number…[and] it means a

fair pay for a fair day. Career staff on twice the pay doing not even half the job of

someone in the same role is inappropriate and disenfranchising. (Female SR513)

There is extremely limited professional development at CFA for people who aren't

operational. (Female SR230)

It seems that there is a strong culture in the workplace that sends the message that

PTA staff should 'know their place' and that the 'blue shirts' will always know better

so will manage HR situations, both with staff and within brigades, according to the

way they want to manage things, often not giving any credence to input/information

provided by a PTA staff member. Considering that there is no gender balance within

the OO/OM stream of 'blue shirts', I'm not sure if this is a gender issue, or an

arrogance in regard to being in the Operational stream, not PTA. Or both. (Female

SR362)

There is significant inequity between those covered by the operations agreement,

and those not. The level of work expectation, supervision and governance subscribed

to PTA staff is significantly greater than operational staff. Although I have all the

necessary skills I am restricted from applying for any roles due to not having been on

a recruit course. This is discrimination against the protected attribute of industrial

activity I am unclear how this has not been challenge through the Fair Work system.

True equity would see any person with the necessary skills being able to apply for any

position. One way to counter this is to separate rank from role. (Male SR103)

[Problem] is the division in PTA/Operations Agreement. Certain ranks treat and look

at PTA staff as unskilled and should only be supporting operations. Its a big divide.

(Male SR499)

All staff weather that is Uniformed Staff or Non-Uniformed staff have the right to be

heard and should feel comfortable going to management to report and present their

case of any issues. PTA staff should have the opportunity to move into other

employment opportunities CFA not to be restricted by Industrial Work Agreements as

it is at the moment. (Male SR134)

8. FEELING RESPECTED AND VALUED WITHIN THE ORGANISATION:


22 | P a g e

CFA is about who you know and not what you know, unfortunately this

disadvantages CFA as many people with the right level of skills and abilities are

overlooked. The executive make assumptions about people without any discussion

with them and act on these assumptions, again a huge disadvantage to CFA as well

as treating people extremely badly without any consequences for these actions.

(Female SR131)

Analysis of the data reveal a strong and consistent theme among both female and male PTA

staff of being disrespected and devalued, particularly by operational staff and senior

management. Whilst female respondents reported this more often, male respondents

made explicit that they experienced what they deemed to be a lack of respect and value for

the work they perform identifying operational staff and the organisational culture at fault.

Many respondents referenced PTA has being regarded and treated as ‘second’ and ‘third’

class citizens by operational staff citing examples of poor conduct; unequal access to career

and training opportunities; differences in remuneration both in terms of similar role tasks

and EBA increments and conditions.

In addition, a ‘boys club’ culture was frequently cited by both male and female respondents

with claims that preferential treatment for select males and some females, for jobs and

other opportunities as well as protection from accountability for poor performance and

poor behaviour is entrenched within CFA. Both male and female respondents identified

adherence to stereotypical gender roles amongst operational staff and senior management

which included sexist and demeaning language directed at women PTA staff and

inappropriate behaviour and bullying of PTA staff on the basis of their ‘lesser’ status within

the organisation.

CFA is a boys club and women will never be taken seriously. Most of the men in CFA

thing women are in their roles purely to do administration tasks. (Female SR561)

If you are in the in boys club you will be give opportunities. (Female SR438)

The boys club mentality where the management will assist ‘the boys’ formalise their

positions with bend[ing] of rules….(Female SR154)

Do not challenge a blue shirt….even if were to win there will be consequences. The

culture is a bit like the defence academy - you will not be seen as resilient if you

report, with probable implications for you in the future. The boys club culture is still

very strong, with the expectation that you will not rat out anyone unless the

behaviour is really outrageous. I think a lot more lateral entry would help change this

culture, so that community expectations that exist outside CFA become normative


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with regard to acceptable behaviours, even for those who are of the "brotherhood."

(Male SR220)

I believe that in CFA we seem to talk a lot about diversity within the structure,

however what we fail to do is anything that improves the culture that is pervasive

throughout the organisation which holds operationally ranked staff as the highest

priority and the PTA as barley worth any sort of recognition. Our culture is one of a

boys club that is ingrained…. the culture of CFA is... -fit in -don't make waves -be one

of the boys if you want to succeed. (Female SR372)

A strong theme coming from staff was the devaluing of the work performed by PTA staff

and this issue is raised in other sections of this report as valuing and respect for PTA staff is

raised alongside other issues.

A review of educational standards across all managers must be undertaken. In 99%

of organisations in the public and private sector, this is a key criteria when employing

a person. This is one step that will help to reduce the "jobs for mates" mentality and

sends all staff the right message, that if you have the qualifications and you work

hard, you will be rewarded. Again CFA is the winner and this will be an important

message that will help rebuild a broken culture. (Male SR185)

PTA staff are the backbone of this organisation yet have taken a back seat when it

comes to parity in the workplace (Female SR215)

Equity in (any) workplace should mean equal access to career progression - based on

a transparent, open to all, merit based selection process. This is not the case in CFA -

career advancement opportunities generally go to the 'captain's picks' (who in some

cases in a close friend or family member). (Female SR531) (Parenthesis in original)

There is a clear distinction between Operations and PTA staff. This is fostered [by

male operation staff). It is my opinion based on experience and observations that a

percentage of operations staff believe they are well above PTA staff in stature and

broadly within the CFA community. There is not 'one' CFA. There is Operations and

then everyone else. Until this division is addressed and rectified and clear direction is

given starting at the top, I fail to see how there can ever be a 'one' CFA. (Male

SRID233)

Ops staff are largely dismissive of PTA contribution unless in administrative

sphere.(Female SR567)


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Ops staff are largely dismissive of PTA contribution unless in administrative sphere.

(Female SR567)

I wish people would remember that we are there to Protect the Community - not to

stroke egos. We are a volunteer based organisation, but we are not there just to

please the volunteers. And operational members need to respect the skills and

knowledge of the PTA staff, we are treated like we can't do anything more than take

minutes or write letters. (Female SR547)

CFA never seems to value what everyone can bring to the table. I love what CFA

represents but I have never been so pigeon-holed or under valued in any other

organisation. With continued lack of opportunity for advancement I have now

reached the 'why bother trying' stage which is sad both for me and for the

organisation. Some years ago I printed out some words….. 'Everyone needs to feel

Safe, Valued, Listened To'. Its hard to feel any of those things in CFA at times.(Female

SR364)

CFA, as an emergency response agency has a definite responsibility to ensure its core

business is addressed and functions to the best of its ability, however, Support Staff

(PTA employees) are, I believe, seen as coming a poor second. Phrases such as "One

CFA" and "We respect and value our support staff" are mere statements without any

worth in them. (Male SR426)

I believe women are not well supported or treated as equals in this organisation. I

believe that there is little respect for PTA Staff from those in operational roles and

senior management. We do so much for very little acknowledgement or

recognition.(Female SR558)

There is a culture amongst some of the operational staff that denigrates the role of

PTA employees and belittles non operational staff. (Male SR17)

The bullying and harrasement I have expeirenced stems mostly from operational

roles in middle management ( OO, OM's). …PTA] staff are perceived as a support role

only. If the truth was actually forthcoming, it is in fact the UFU who have instigated

and massaged this thinking and culture within CFA . Ops staff are initiated into this

style of thinking at a very early stage in their career. One CFA does not exisit (sic) as

the anti establishment culture is too strong. (Male SR483)

In CFA, it’s the division in PTA/Operations Agreement. Certain ranks treat and look at

PTA staff as unskilled and should only be supporting operations. Its a big divide.

(Male SR499)


25 | P a g e

There are many examples where PTA staff are treated as second class compared to

Operational staff. ELT/OLT wave the CFA values at staff but do not adhere to them

themselves on a regular basis. they talk the talk but do not walk the walk. (Male

SR346)

Operational Staff do not seem to be able to do anything wrong, they seem too be un

touchable, and seem to be treated with more favourably than PTA staff, unless your

a PTA staff that is "on the in". (Male SR493)

Whilst recognising a male dominated culture that largely negates gender equity, there were

women wanting and willing for cultural change and keenly aware of the presence of strong,

competent women in the organisation:

…there are examples where diversity and inclusion is evident and I look upon those

teams with envy. I know that there are capable women performing and excelling in

key roles, and that gives me hope for the future of this organisation. (Female SR530)

8.1 Male perspectives on masculinist culture: Experiences and opinions expressed by male

PTA staff, noted above, regarding the treatment of non-operational male staff by

operational staff is not surprising when given context to scholarly literature which examines

the hyper-masculinist culture of fire fighting. Under the shibboleth of fire fighting,

masculinity is a mono-culture that supports a narrow and very specific stereotype of what it

is to be a male and a fire-fighter. Males who are not fire fighters are viewed through a

different lens of masculinity and males working in non-operational roles are subject to a

lens which locates their masculinity as one sitting well outside the ‘normative’ culture of

‘male’ fire fighters. As such, despite the male dominated culture, non-operational male staff

may not have the same cultural fit as operational male staff. (Baigent etc as references) The

following quotes from three male respondents highlight this more specifically:

Operational Staff treat PTA Staff in a degrading and demeaning manner. They treat

us totally different to other Uniform staff members just because we are PTA and

don't wear a uniform. If you wear a uniform you are treated and respected a lot

different to a staff member who doesn't wear a uniform. (Male SR134)

Unfortunately there are two types of CFA employees, operational and PTA so equality

will never truly be there while this situation exists. Operational staff often treat PTA

staff as second class even when they have the same qualifications and experience.

Having different uniforms does not help. I say this from experience on many

occasions of many years. (Male SR310)


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I believe that operational staff are not made accountable for their behaviour as there

has been a culture within group that they are superior to everyone else. This has been

entrenched into the workplace through power as they wear a uniform, they drive

under lights and sirens and they see themselves as untouchable. (Male SR265)

A number of respondents lamented the failure of CFA leadership to listen and act on the

issues raised in the survey, which are not ‘new’ issues but deeply ingrained problems across

the culture:

There needs to be focus on the value of PTA staff on how they contribute and drive

the organisation forward to fulfil its operational service to the community. Until we

do that there will be no changes to the organisations culture, and in 20 years time we

will still be discussing these same issues. (Female SR372)

Language is a powerful linguistic identifier. In the next section, attitudes expressed in part

through language is highlighted through women’s voices from the survey. However before

moving into that section it is pertinent to note a small but visible number of respondents

who made comment about the language used to describe PTA staff. The survey did not

address questions around role terminology but a number of respondents took issue with

PTA staff being regarded merely as ‘support’ staff which carried with it connotations of

being ‘unskilled support’ (SR499). Given the statistics on the educational qualifications of

PTA staff and its comparison to operational staff whose average education is a workplace

training certificate, it is understandable that ‘professional, technical and administration staff

(PTA) feel that current generalised descriptors of themselves as ‘support’ staff are felt as

inadequate and demeaning (eg. SR’s 483, 513,561,52,126,567,434,301,427,499).

9. Women in CFA

Notwithstanding this, female respondents made explicit a view that gender was an

additional layer that targeted them for disrespect. These views reflect something of Haas

and his theoretical articulation of double dominance within the organisational culture of fire

services:

[I am] disregarded because I (sic) 'just' an Admin person…female/old

chook/antagonist (cant stand things that are not correct) non-operational, a

somehow lesser human being because of my position (Female SR364) (Parenthesis in

original)

Females are not respected for anything other than 'clerical assistants' and 'office staff' or 'caterers'…Its extremely disappointing, tiring and exhausting to be subjected


27 | P a g e

to sexism, taunts, and stereotypes. Most of all its [sic] lack of respect.” (Female SR544) When I walk around my office in building 8, I see almost every individual office occupied by a male in a uniform. It makes me feel as though women aren't valued as much as men, particularly operational men. (Female SR15) Gender diversity is also a joke with references to 'admin girls' by many of the

(particularly) operationally ranked managers. (Male SR52) (Parenthesis in original)

I have had a manager brag to me that when he was running a project in HQ he made

sure that his team was "worth looking at all day" I'm approaching 30 years in the

public sector and have been witness to all manner of behaviours, but I've never seen

the like of CFA before. (Male SR261)

I think that often the barriers to women's participation in this organisation are

entrenched in the systems and the culture. You may try to change the culture but

when the systems don't support the change it just becomes a farce. (Female SR178)

The gender imbalance here is striking as are many of the archaic principles and

culture that reward and sustain a male dominated organisation. As a woman I do not

feel welcomed here nor do I feel my skills from an extensive professional life are

valued and I have often found myself having to 'defend' my credentials….on the basis

that some are 'intimidated' by my education and 'idea's and 'confidence' and I find

that quite disturbing. (Female SR473)

I have been surprised by some comments I have heard in relation to women during

my time with CFA. These have included a statement questioning whether a woman

should return to her role after having a child as she will be more focused on the child

than the role, jokes about women crying in meetings, and a derogative statements

about older women having children. At times I feel there are some people in CFA who

are about 20 years behind the times when it comes to their attitude toward

women.(Female SR366)

I and other women and other minorities are, and have been, excluded from

opportunities and advancement within CFA. I have been subjected to casual sexism in

the workplace. It has happened through: Language that is demeaning and

patronising; The telling of inappropriate jokes that put down and demean women;

Perception that my knowledge is inferior to my male counterparts; Overhearing

conversations where the appearance/weight/clothing of other women at CFA has

been criticised, and them being attributed cruel nicknames that are well known

amongst certain groups of male employees; Frequently being talked-over in meetings


28 | P a g e

large and small; and Being labelled as ‘bossy’, ‘bitchy’ or ‘feisty’ in attempts to be

assertive. I am not suggesting that these behaviours are unique to CFA, or that they

are only enacted by men within the organisation. CFA does however, foster a ‘blokey’

culture as a by-product of the (out dated) command and control management style

that reinforces gender-based positions or achievements, for example, physical

strength and endurance as the (only?) marker of an effective fire-fighter.

Coming from a local government background, I was shocked that sexism in the ways

described above is more openly tolerated by management and the general workforce

at CFA, and that any raising of the issue (with colleagues) is met with ridicule or

indifference.The type of discrimination and exclusion that I have experienced and

witnessed is also much more insidious; it's hidden under a layer of rhetoric and

tokenistic platitudes that promotes CFA as inclusive and progressive, but in practice,

protects and rewards long-standing attitudes (being 'one of the boys') and cultural

markers (restricting women to lower-paid administration and support roles). These

are part of a toxic, paternalistic culture within CFA that suppresses advancement of

those deemed 'non-deserving' despite their skills and history, and that I believe is

applied more readily to women than to men when conducting both formal and

informal assessments. (Female SR530)

I am constantly reminded - overtly by comment or covertly by body language that I

don't really know what CFA is about because I am not male or don't have an

operational role. I am called 'girlie', I have been spoken to dismissively, I have been

turned away from, heckled, ignored and been subjected to eye rolling and

indignation. (Female SR351)

I find time after time, after time, I am subjected to inappropriate comments about

being female…sadly this is common. (Female SR544)

There is a general feeling of boys' club about the CFA. Harassment and sexism are

casual, a jovial disregard for correctness. If you objected to it you would be seen as

humourless. It is easier to laugh along. It is difficult to be seen as anything other than

the functionary you are employed as when you are a woman. No one would have any

idea about my academic qualifications or record, except my immediate supervisor,

who happens to be a woman. It is easy to feel invisible in this environment. (Female

SR427)

I have outright been told by my manager that I am just "arms and legs to get the job

done". Also that a female colleague who he did not see eye to eye with would

"happily work with you, as you're female as well". (Female SR77)


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I think that often the barriers to women's participation in this organisation are

entrenched in the systems and the culture. You may try to change the culture but

when the systems don't support the change it just becomes a farce. We have ongoing

difficulties with [acquiring senor roles] and flexible hours….the attitudes of some men

in the organisation who dismiss the women from their thinking…and [when a

woman] return from leave [it is] as if they have had a lobotomy and not a baby. One

time I attended an Operations Managers/Officers meeting off-site - I looked around

the room and counted 54 men and two women me and the PA for one of the (senior

operational staff). Let's have some lateral entry to boost the diversity in the

Operations ranks and dare I say change the world view of the organisation. (FEMALE)

(RID178)

I am aware of females who have excellent skills, experience and passion to take on

higher level roles, but have been overlooked or down trodden - leaning towards

males who turn out to be ineffective in the same role/s. Whilst I agree there should

be a level of gender equality, I also feel that by targeting females in this way actually

continues to isolate them.(Female SR498)

We have ongoing difficulties with flexible hours and payroll and the attitudes of some

men in the organisation who dismiss the women from their thinking when they are

on leave and treat them differently when they return from leave as if they have had a

lobotomy and not a baby. (Female SR178)

In relation to the last quote above, a male survey respondent commented similarly:

Women who choose to have babies are treated like they have had a partial frontal

lobotomy. Also, there appears to be a view that you must be at work in excess of 38

hours a week to have a career, especially if you have babies.(Male SR192)

In addition to the overwhelming number of female respondents cognisant of the poor

treatment of women in the organisation, several male respondents also noted ‘sexist’

language used to both describe women and respond to the, as well as appointing them to

stereotypical administration roles (eg. SR100; SR483; SR574; SR192). That said, male

respondents were more likely to make negative comments about gender equity in the

workforce with suggestions that gender equity was about giving jobs to women in the

absence of merit or capability for the purpose of redressing male dominance within the

organisation. National and international organisations are now investing in greater

awareness and education within their workforce with regards to gender diversity and equity

principles. CFA would benefit from investment in such programs.


30 | P a g e

Some staff were cognisant that gender inequity can harm the way women behave in male

dominated organisations as a consequence of the culture and the paucity of females in

senior roles (NB provide additional comments and also literature as this is a complex issue

worthy of being teased out further) :

In a "mans world" women feel they have to prove themselves and are always

competing for something (respect, a position, a better position, opportunities,

acknowledgement). There is this sense that there is only enough room for a few

women in the higher levels (starting at 5s) that these women often resort to

measures that set themselves a part from their fellow female colleagues. (Female

SR122)

I have a belief that due to some of the cultural challenges at CFA, with it being a male

dominated environment with a "boys club" mentality at times, some women feel they

need to behave this way to be heard and progress their career. (Female SR300)

Just an observation I have noticed, often when women in CFA have been promoted to

higher positions they must feel they need to be tougher, harder and meaner than

men. Leadership is not about being cold, hard and in control it’s about bringing

everyone on the journey. (Female SR226)

10. Organisational diversity and workplace culture:

Section three of the survey focussed on questions about the everyday workplace behaviour

and culture.

Written comments overwhelmingly identified an organisational culture marked by white

Anglo-saxon uniformed males that is highly tolerant of poor behaviour; operating around

narrow stereotypes and lacking transparency and accountability. The comments reflect the

tenor of scholarly literature (add literature) identifying the same features and noting their

seemingly intractable resistance to challenge and change, although Victorian Fire Services

are considered to have a more aggressively dominant culture compared to other fire

services across the nation (source literature).

Respondents who were relatively new the organisation (with the past 6-18 months)

expressed disappointment and concern at the culture of the organisation with most saying

they were actively seeking employment elsewhere on the basis of the sexist and

bullying/inappropriate behaviours they have either observed or experienced first-hand with

zero accountability from management. Indeed there was an absence of positive descriptors

of the organisation from the 550 staff who completed the survey. A handful of respondents

regarded that the organisation had improved somewhat in certain departments or areas but


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that change was minimal, had not filtered beyond a certain group or department and that

far more urgent change was required.

In terms of diversity within the organisation, the statement that ‘CFA is a diverse

organisation’ had 44.12% of respondents in agreement with this statement and 14.64 in

strong agreement compared to 26.39% disagreeing and just over 7% strongly disagreeing

that CFA is a diverse organisation. These statistics provide an interesting juxtaposition to

the majority of written comments which lament the lack of diversity within CFA with

reference to the ‘white Anglo-Saxon male’ as a dominant feature of CFA in terms of

workforce and hierarchy.

You should only ever be challenged or measured on your knowledge, experience,

capability and not your age, gender, religious views and race. We live in Australia and

it's 2016. The middle aged, male, white Anglo-Saxon doesn't have all the answers

anymore. We need to a piece of every person to achieve the best outcome. (Female

SR549)

There are elements of CFA workplace culture - particularly in the 'blue-shirt'

community - that are actively resistant to broadening diversity and equity of

opportunity within the organisation. The industrial organisation that covers

operational staff actively supports (and develops) this workplace cultural

position/world-view. It is not good enough. Time to change! (Male SR101)

Regardless of your background white/Australian [operational] males within the

organisation are not the only staff capable of leadership. (Male SR521)

The principals (sic) of Merit and Equity need to be fully engaged, this cannot occur

with a close (sic) shop culture. The deregulation of every other market has occurred

within Australia except the Fire Industry labour market. Open the gates if you really

want gender diversity and equality. (Male SR43)

In my view, CFA is currently a mono cultural organisation and suffers for this. I am

aware of other fire fighting services where the mission statement commits the

organisation to ensure that the workforce reflects the diversity of the communities

served by the organisation. (Male SR48)

The majority of respondents agreed/strongly agreed to questions regarding their general

staff interaction in daily work around concepts of respectful communication and work

environment (see Appendix ??? for responses to all questions) however a solid minority

disagreed. Again the general consensus from the statistics that staff interaction is generally

positive is not borne out by the written comments detailing levels of harassment, bullying,

inappropriate conduct, lack of respect and a generally poor organisational culture. The

apparent contradiction may relate to staff agreeing that staff collectively in their area


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behave appropriately however in the written sections are able to isolate the individuals

responsible for bullying and other poor conduct they have experienced and/or witnessed. In

many cases the alleged offenders are management and operational staff who have seniority

of role – or alternatively ‘status’ of uniform over the staff member in question.

Behaviours that would not be tolerated in other organisations are part of CFA

culture. Very hard to change the way things are if the desire for change is not there.

The current culture suits a lot of people in this organisation. (Female SR531)

The type of discrimination and exclusion that I have experienced and witnessed is

also much more insidious; it's hidden under a layer of rhetoric and tokenistic

platitudes that promotes CFA as inclusive and progressive, but in practice, protects

and rewards long-standing attitudes (being 'one of the boys') and cultural markers

(restricting women to lower-paid administration and support roles). These are part of

a toxic, paternalistic culture within CFA that suppresses advancement of those

deemed 'non-deserving' despite their skills and history, and that I believe is applied

more readily to women than to men when conducting both formal and informal

assessments.(Female SR530).

We don't value our own CFA values, many of our colleagues are not even aware of

them. Do we even have EO courses anymore. Our values are not always modeled,

and certainly are not taught...and in fact some people will grab a value and use it as

a weapon in arguments (in particular respect) just to win a debate...when they have

not considered any other values in the way they conduct themselves. We need to

teach everyone in CFA the importance of our code of conduct and values as a formal

induction, and have these maintained...surely these things would help to build

change. (Female SR122)

Before I arrived at CFA, I had colleagues at my previous place of work (another

government agency) 'warn' me of where I was going and what behaviour to expect

and that it was 'very different' from the generally positive or neutral gender culture I

was leaving. Unfortunately, the warning was warranted and it was actually much

worse than they were implying, sexist, male dominant, akin to times gone by and not

at all reflective of a modern workplace. CFA has many positive attributes, however,

there is a distinct lack of a positive or diverse culture and gender discrimination is

rife. From a corporate perspective, women appear to me as, continually fighting an

uphill battle for respect, courtesy and career progression. The scale of poor behaviour

can be attributed to large or small events, however what concerns me the most is the

degree of casual sexism, a male culture that believes that they are probably more

progressive than they actually are, the degree of relying on gender as a basis as to

why a person is or not suitable for a role or project and using gender as an excuse in

a professional or work setting. The entrenched view is that men can manage and


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women should be in subservient positions to men. The number of times I have heard

remarks about ‘women’ and their ‘management’ style, is appalling. It is the

comments like ‘she couldn’t handle xx, needed to be more like xxx (male)’ or ‘it’s a

role that is probably better to suited to xxx (male) given the people involved’ – similar

sentiments are also insinuated when not explicitly stated. Sadly, I don’t believe that

most of the male workforce realise the degree of an issue gender inequality is at CFA

(at least at the corporate level). The systemic nature of disrespect, inequality and

difficulties for women that I know at CFA is evidenced on a daily basis and in the

wider management decision making processes. (Female SR154)

There is a culture of sometimes passive aggressive harassment. "That is the way we

do things around here and you need to do the same". I have seen people victimized

for not following the unwritten rules. This I see as harassment. ..This survey did not

not ask about sexual harassment specifically. This is something that should be asked

[because it] occurs throughout the CFA through my personal experience. (Female

SR491)

The culture of the organisation needs to also be receptive to females who can 'bring

it'. Perhaps rather than target females in recruitment campaigns (both staff and

volunteer), we should be working on improving the culture of the organisation to

make it receptive to females so they will be attracted to the organisation of their own

accord, rather than being 'co-erced' into it through a slap and dash targeted

recruitment campaign. At the moment, the culture of the organisation does not

support this. (Female SR498)

There [are]pockets of unacceptable behaviour, particularly in the operational arm of

the organisation but there are also issues in the support services…there appears to be

dissatisfaction at an overall organisational level with the culture that perpetuates

unacceptable behaviour (systemic issues) and that makes it hard to call out this type

of behaviour. (Male SR518)

My experience of CFA [culture] is that each Region is very protective of their own

patch and do not encourage spread of new ideas or programs that would benefit the

organisation as a whole. I have found that Middle management males tend to

employ female admin staff as they tend to be less of a challenge than males, and

possibly boost the manager's ego. This makes it extremely difficult to gain

employment outside your current Region, unlike the Corporate world. (Male SR 465)

I know quite a few people are currently experiencing or have previously experienced

bullying within CFA and many have left the organisation due to the lack of support.

Another major issue that I believe contributes to this culture is the favoritism shown

to friends and family. There seems to be a glut of these people who have been hired


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based on their community ties not on their suitability or qualifications for the job. I

would say more than half of the staff here have been appointed through association

not merit. These people often get unadvertised jobs through word of mouth and once

they are in they contribute to the bullying culture as they are free and protected to do

what they want.(Female SR210)

10.1 A question of Equity: The open question in the survey inviting staff to complete the

sentence: “Equity in my workplace means?” highlighted the seriousness with which staff

viewed the principles of equity and with majority lamenting that CFA did not practice nor

uphold principles of equity or equality. They were not confined to this particular question as

Section 7 on PTA levels and remuneration also identified equity issues:

Equity in my workplace means we have said all the right words and have all the right

posters on the back of the toilet doors but we do very little else to support a good

culture of equity. We will be judged by our actions. (Male SR254)

The principals (sic) of Merit and Equity need to be fully engaged, this cannot occur

with a close shop culture. The deregulation of every other market has occurred within

Australia except the Fire Industry labour market. Open the gates if you really want

gender diversity and equality.(Male SR43)

Equity in my workplace is like a rollacoaster, I think it is applied on how members are

feeling at the time, there is no consistent approach (Male SR265)

[equity would mean that] CFA are a mature and modern public sector organisation,

that any gender or race is valued and recognised for their ability and that particular

gender or groups of staff are not specifically targeted as means of evening up the

ledger as this is more insulting and unethical than the initial inequity. (Male SR261)

Equity in my workplace means the opportunity to pursue promotion on an equal

footing with all candidates, the ability to state my opinion and my thoughts about a

workplace subject if it is required, not having to smile and be silent in the face of

casual, 'jovial' sexism. (Female SR427)

[Equity means] staff development and career advancement rather than biased

towards who-knows-who or who is related to who within the organisation, big gap

between difference in treatment between operations and non-operations staff; and

between staff and volunteers. (Female SR562)

The issue of gender inequality was a major theme in response to the question of equity

which is not surprising as it is a theme that flowed throughout the survey. Suffice to say

that female staff and some male staff noted the lack of equity for female staff in terms of

lack of career and training opportunities; invisibility of women not just in senior roles but in


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having a voice and being able to have their views and expertise respected and heard. Staff

comments included women being talked down to and put down on the basis of their

gender and having their education, qualifications and expertise ignored and disregarded.

[CFA needs to ensure] men and women are treated equally for the expertise they

contribute to the organisation. In my experience, the attitudes towards young

women with specific expertise, knowledge and skills of their area of expertise are not

respected by senior male management. It is particularly evident in situations where

my male peers are distributing the same advice yet it is received differently, and

quite obviously differently. (Female SR500)

There was a tenor of comments amongst male and female respondents that PTA staff are

fearful of expressing professional views or opinions because the organisation is unable to

respect differences of opinion and refuses to accept or listen to the expertise of non-

operational staff.

Staff also commented on the lack of communication and information sharing within the

organisation which affected job performance and also affected staff personally on the basis

that information was often used or withheld to drive personal agendas (Male SR45) or as a

tool to have power over others, both of which impacted negatively on work performance

and organisational culture. (Female SR484)

A number of respondents recognised the poor organisational culture but expressed hope

that they could actively contribute to organisational change, the following comment

reflecting the tenor of comments:

I want to stay at CFA. It is an organisation that brings great value to our community

in Victoria. Improving the culture will make a big difference and I'm happy to be part

of that change. Securing the leadership of the organisation at executive level would

be a good first step forward. (Female SR230)

Quite a number of respondents expressed feelings of renewed hope; expectation; and

excitement at the appointment of Lucinda Nolan, our first female CEO as well as CO Joe

Buffone on the basis of their explicit commitment to addressing gender diversity and

organisational culture.

Linguistic analyses on written comments show that staff lack ‘trust’ in the organisation with

one respondent describing the work culture as one of ‘a game of survival’ (SR393) on the

basis that staff and management were not trustworthy. Others spoke of the ‘mind games’

and needing to ‘survive’ any challenge to the poor culture of the organisation (SR277;

SR220).


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11. BULLYING AND HARASSMENT:

A marked feature of the survey was the willingness and directness of staff in providing

extensive written comments revealing experiences that were clearly difficult and painful to

articulate and which at the time had significant and varying degrees of impact and

consequences with many still angry and even traumatised by the experience/s.

Section Five of the survey asked questions about bullying and harassment with the

opportunity to provide written comments. It is significant that 97% of respondents took the

opportunity to provide detailed comments of experiences affecting them or others they had

witnessed occurring to other staff.

Reading this material was a visceral experience as literally hundreds and hundreds of

respondents gave detail of behaviours that included criminal sexual assault; sexual

harassment; physical altercations; bullying; intimidation; harassment; threats of violence

and other forms of inappropriate behaviour causing various degrees of distress. Several

respondents identified that they had contemplated suicide; others who had to seek

psychiatric and medical intervention to support levels of stress, depression, anxiety and

suicidal ideation as a result of serious workplace conduct directed towards them. Many

other respondents wrote of needing to take medical leave as a direct consequence of

bullying and harassment as well as requesting to be moved away from the department,

locale or even district where they were working as a means of avoiding ongoing bullying and

harassment.

Even more concerning are comments from staff in the survey expressing levels of genuine

fear, apprehension and mistrust that completing the survey may lead to them being

‘identified’ or that information may be used to reveal their identity leading to a punitive

repercussions. Several respondents went as far as making pleading comments in the survey

that their comments would not quoted in full for fear that even the wording they chose to

articulate their experiences of bullying, assault and harassment may mean that they are

identified by the offender or other staff within CFA. This fear was so real that several staff

made confidential contact seeking reassurance for them or for other staff that we could

guarantee anonymity of the survey. One staff member emailed to advise that they

desperately wished to complete the survey but were too fearful because previous

experience/knowledge at CFA had shown that confidentiality was an issue and that

targeted repercussions were very real fears.


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The sheer volume and content of qualitative data addressing bullying, harassment and other

inappropriate conduct speaks to the seriousness of the issue. This section begins with an

overview of the statistical data before moving on to examine in closer detail the qualitative

data.

11.1 Statistical Analysis

We asked respondents if they understood behaviours that constituted bullying and those

which constituted harassment with 98% responding affirmatively. When respondents were

asked if they had directly experienced what constituted to them as ‘bullying’ nearly half

(49.47%) of respondents responded with a ‘yes’ while 33.26% said they had experienced

what constituted ‘harassment’. These figures are concerning, however even more alarming

is that 69.30% of respondents answered ‘yes’ to knowing other staff who had experienced

bullying or harassment. Overall 51.20% of respondents believe that bullying is problem in

CFA and 38% agreeing that CFA has a problem with sexual harassment. With regard to the

latter, a number of female respondents lamented that the survey did not make specific the

issue of ‘sexual harassment’ which they believed was a problem at CFA and it was

predominantly female respondents who agreed that harassment is a problem in CFA.

Further analysis isolated responses by gender to look at potential differences.

11.2 Female Respondents

Asked if they have ever experienced ‘bullying’ 49.16% responded ‘yes’ and and 32.98% of

respondents responded with ‘yes’ to experiencing ‘harassment’.

Of those who affirmed they had experienced bullying or harassment 49% said they reported

the bullying/harassment to their line manager however just on 70% were dissatisfied with

how the report was handled. More than 50% of respondents disagreed that managers

responded appropriately to reports of bullying or harassment. When asked if they believed

bullying was a problem at CFA 71% agreed/strongly agreed and the same percentage

agreed/strongly agreed that harassment was a problem at CFA.

11.3 Male Respondents:

At this stage in the survey, male respondents reported a little higher than female

respondents with regard to bullying and harassment. Asked if they have ever experienced

‘bullying’ 50.31% responded ‘yes’ and and 34.59% of respondents responded with ‘yes’ to

experiencing ‘harassment’.

Male respondents were less likely to report with just 20% indicating they reported the

behaviour and 79.25 indicating they did not report the behaviour. Asked about satisfaction

of the outcome of a report the response rate is almost voided by the fact that nearly 80% of

male respondents did not complete this answer in the survey which is rather odd.


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Close to 50% of respondents disagree/strong disagree that managers respond appropriately

to reports of bullying or harassment. Asked if bullying is a problem in CFA just over 45% of

male respondents agree/strongly agree that it is a problem.

11.4 Qualitative Analysis:

The vast majority of respondents provided rich and detailed information about their

experiences of the bullying and/or harassment and the responses they received when

raising concerns with their line manager or seeking to report the matter higher up. For ease

of reading this section is organised around several major themes on bullying, harassment

and other negative behaviours.

The sheer volume of qualitative data, coupled with the aforementioned statistics indicate

serious behaviours reported across the organisation and an organisation seemingly unable

or unwilling to deal with poor behaviour leading staff to the view that the organisation both

tolerates such behaviour and punishes victims or others who seek redress. Many

respondents expressed a view that bullying and harassment are rife, everyday conduct

within the organisation and practised at every level of staff and management:

[CFA] has a status driven culture which is both male dominated and operationally

focused. It seems that there is a different set of rules for operational staff… I have

been subjected to inappropriate behaviour. I have also witnessed others being

subjected to this behaviour. Because these behaviours have not been called out, it

has filtered throughout the organisation and caused individuals who perhaps

wouldn't normally behave inappropriately, to do just that whether they be male,

female, operational or non-operational. CFA members need to be held accountable

for their actions regardless of what role they perform in CFA. (Female SR377)

Harassment and bullying occurs in many different ways for Staff (Male SR40)

I feel there is a strong culture of intimidation within CFA. This lends itself to the

opportunity for bullying or harassment - makes it easier. I have witnessed staff being

intimidated and excluded. I am pleased this is a focus of CFA's CEO. I hope the rest of

the leadership get on board. Once again, congratulations on tackling this issue. Just

keep open to all the forms of bullying like exclusion or intimidation.(Female SR9)

I would rather speak to someone about this as may case is now history but CFA is a

boys club where if you speak up against unacceptable behaviour by one of the boys

they close ranks and shut you out and suggest you should maybe leave. This was

suggested to me [by manager]. (Female SR44)

I believe that the cultural divide, between operational and non operational staff c

ontributes to a [culture] of bullying [by] non operational staff. (Male SR48)


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Staff and volunteers that have long records of poor behaviour should be removed out of the

organisation rather than tolerated. (MALE) (RID521)



The current culture suits a lot of people in this organisation. (FEMALE) (RID531)

I have only been here [short time] [but] I have bared [sic] witness to harassment and

bullying of other women in the workforce. The difficulty I have found with these

issues is that because of the wider culture at CFA, there is a fear that making

complaints will impact your career prospects and you will be forever more tainted by

making the complaint and be categorised as ‘difficult’…In conclusion, I think there are

serious issues at CFA for women and there is a lot that can be done both at an

operational level but also at a corporate level to improve the situation. (FEMALE)

(154)

Most respondents commented on immediate and longer term impact on their health and

well-being and the work environment and work performance.

Unfortunately it seems to take until a staff member/s get to the point of breakdown

before any action is taken. You are made to feel like you are just being precious and

taking things the wrong way when dealing with unprofessional and bullying

behaviours.(Female SR552)

The way in which people treat each other in this organisation can be absolutely

appalling and there is absolutely no management of this. I have been spoken to

inappropriately on more than one occasion and had people try to intimate me to

approve what it is they are requesting. Sadly this has become normal behaviour. I

have been reduced to tears within my office on more than one occasion and have

comforted team members who have experienced the same on a number of occasions.

Management have been made aware, yet people are not held to account. I have had

instances where I have phoned in sick as a result of my poor experience at

work.(Female SR23)

I'm not sure bullying and harassment are the problem in my work location, it is more

that inappropriate behaviour across the organisation is not followed up with in a

timely manner.(Female SR 173)

A number of respondents spoke of behaviours that were subtle and likely not viewed as

bullying or harassment however went on to identify the behaviours as damaging to the

workplace culture. There was a powerful consensus that CFA cultivated and maintained an

unhealthy culture where bullying, harassment and other inappropriate, and indeed criminal

conduct, was deeply imbedded, resistant to challenge and change with management and


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executive staff aware and either indifferent of the conduct or emasculated from enacting

any kind of appropriate interventions.

Bullying & Harassment can be very subtle - overt behaviours are easier to recognise

& report - but a member needs to be very brave to report a colleague when they will

continue to work in the same office as that person or persons. That does not make for

a comfortable or co-operative work environment & ultimately the situation becomes

intolerable. (Female SR312)

most bullying and harassment I have experienced and witnessed has been of a subtle

nature. Just under enough to make it not worth reporting. (Female SR41)

What is clear from the survey thus far is the deleterious impacts of bullying, harassment and

other negative behaviours on the mental and physical health of staff both in their work and

home environment. More concerning is that for those who reported the behaviour the

responses were so poor as to be a mitigating factor in exacerbating the problem rather than

being a remedy. Of the literally hundreds of comments very few reported a positive

outcome and those were largely based on the fact that either the offender went to another

position (transferred or promoted); left the organisation or the victim sought a transfer.

Several staff referred to feelings of ‘fear’ and feeling ‘unsafe’ because of the bullying or

harassment and sought to physically remove themselves through actively seeking a transfer

in order to restore a sense of personal safety in the workplace.

A plethora of qualitative comments reveal what can only be described as an organisational

ineptitude when it comes to receiving and responding to reports of bullying and harassment

with a general blindness to other forms of poor and inappropriate conduct. Operational

staff were consistently identified by male and female respondents as being responsible for

bullying and sexual harassment:

I was bullied by an Ops Manager supported by a HR manager…There was nowhere to

go to obtain help with this as the HR manager for the district at the time did nothing

to support me and I was basically threatened that my career may suffer the

consequences. (Male SR40)

I believe women are not well supported or treated as equals in this organisation. I

believe that there is little respect for PTA Staff from those in operational roles and

senior management. We do so much for very little acknowledgement or recognition.

When I was bullied [by an operational member] I was told "Some men are just like

that. You just have to ignore it". That is not an acceptable response. I have a

(XXXXXXXXX) position and still feel as a woman I can struggle to be heard. (Female

SR558)


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11.5 ROLE OF UNION CULTURE AND BULLYING

I feel intimidated by UFU cultures and behaviours that are reflected by some shop

stewards and members behaviour and attitude in the workplace. Management need

to call out on known poor behaviours and practices, thus re-establishing some merit

and equity in application of policy and Procedure. (Male SR43)

Some higher level management members in [certain locale] who are in a uniform

seem to think they have an aura of protection. (Male SR322)

I believe that operational staff are not made accountable for their behaviour as there

has been a culture within group that they are superior to everyone else. This has been

entrenched into the workplace through power as they wear a uniform, they drive

under lights and sirens and they see themselves as untouchable. (Male SR265)

Our managers and supervisors are not supported to uphold our standards, values,

policies or orders on appropriate or unacceptable behaviour - operational staff in

particular are not held to account for any bad or inappropriate behaviour because of

CFA's weak policies and aggressive intervention by the UFU; we need to bed down

our policies on this and support the people who are required to uphold our standards.

(Female SR351)

[There is] no attempt at 'cost saving' is attempted [by] the mostly male operational

and UFU member workforce where blatant harvesting of benefits takes place and

overtime costs are off the charts…. [at the] expense of PTA staff. (Female SR351)

Bullying starts with UFU on CFA, managers against staff. This is a circus, not a work

place. (Male SR515)

I have felt discrimination during my time with CFA primarily due to the fact that I

don't wear a uniform. (Female SR 214)

Bullying and harassment from UFU eg communication across the CFA email system

and we can’t be removed from their mailing list. (Male SR24)

I take the view that bullying and harassment is a feature of the culture of the

operational workforce. It is less evident in the PTA workforce however I would

suggest it is still an issue within that workforce. (Male SR101)

I appreciate the opportunity Lucinda has provided however I continue to have

concerns that senior eg. [names removed] will not support the field if an operational


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persons behaviour is identified as inappropriate by direct manager. CFA struggles to

demonstrate credibility. I would never make a complaint as a result of previous

experience within CFA. I can not be confident to support another staff member to

report an incident because I do not trust the system.(Female SR14)

The tenor and range of qualitative data were indicative of a staff awareness or perception

that management and in particular operational staff bully and harass with impunity as a

consequence both of an organisational culture that has no transparency or accountability

and an industrial instrument that counters any attempt to address even the most serious

forms of reported conduct.

11.6 Isolation as a form of bullying:

Respondents were aware that many behaviours did not constitute the legal understanding

of bullying and discussed a range of poor and inappropriate behaviours that impacted on

staff performance and well-being. One particular theme that emerged was the practice of

isolating or excluding staff with the practice being applied by both managers, supervisors

and other staff with the latter being a form of lateral bullying.

Exclusion is a form of bullying and it is constant in my team but our own manager.

(Female SR34)

There are a range of poor work place behaviours impacting on organisational and

individual wellbeing and productivity that are not Bullying or Harassment that need

attention. eg, Groups of staff form tight clans that do not admit 'new' people leaving

individuals feeling isolated. (Female SR527)

A colleague from another part of the state has been bullied and I expressed my

dissatisfaction with how they were being treated and the behaviour was dismissed

and ignored…[and] led to isolation and…lack of recognition and support [which]

constitutes bullying. (Male SR268)

It is not a safe and supportive environment in the broader team to formally highlight

bullying and harassment as it is mostly subversive in that it tends to be exclusion

based. (Female SR513)

It has been observed that anyone whom would raise these concerns or would defend

colleagues subject to inappropriate behaviour is subject to reprisals from

management, I have noticed micro management of staff, isolation, literally

modifying workplaces and work stations to isolate staff, delaying of OT and expense

claims as well and denying training and equipment (under the guise of budget

constraints. I have had a manager brag to me that when he was running a project in

HQ he made sure that his team was "worth looking at all day" I'm approaching


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[decades] years in the public sector and have been witness to all manner of

behaviours, but I've never seen the like of CFA before. (Male SR261)

There is a culture in this office of poor behaviour, cliques, gossiping between certain

staff members which alienates other staff members. I have tried to raise this directly

with the staff involved, to be told that I obviously don't understand what bullying is.

Management is aware of the ongoing behaviour, but does nothing, which does not

fill me with confidence that anything would be done if a formal complaint was raised.

(Female SR84)



management, I have noticed micro management of staff, isolation, literally

modifying workplaces and work stations to isolate staff, delaying of OT and expense

claims as well and denying training and equipment (under the guise of budget

constraints). (Parenthesis in original) (Male SR261)

Once again, congratulations on tackling this issue. Just keep open to all the forms of

bullying like exclusion or intimidation. (Female SR9)

11.7 Behaviour as ‘the way things are here’:

When I was bullied I was told "Some men are just like that. You just have to ignore

it". (Female SR558)

I think there is a lot of interpersonal conflict and inappropriate behaviour that occurs

which is accommodated or ignored as "that's just him/her...". There is also plenty of

instances where the issues are not well managed or responded to, and make the

situations (even) worse not better. (Female SR126)

The behaviour was dismissed/downplayed: “That's just how he is.” “You can't change

it and need to work around it - challenging it would be a very high risk behaviour: He

can do a lot of damage to you, especially if you don't win. Even if you do win, there

might be consequences for you as someone who couldn't take it”. Do not challenge a

blue shirt. The culture is a bit like the defence academy - you will not be seen as

resilient of (sic) you report, with probable implications for you in the future. (Male

SR220)

Respondents frequently cited that management and other staff would regard inappropriate

behaviour as ‘just the way we do things around here’ was frequently cited (SR178; SR484;

SR526; SR126; SR530’ SR14; SR491; SR531; SR50) and staff being advised that the sexist and

bullying behaviour directed at themselves was about how ‘boys’ behave – including reports

of sexual harassment and assault (SR126; SR220; SR254; SR473; SR351; SR491; SR33; SR125;

SR526; SR558).


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12. Sexual Harassment and Assault:

Of considerable concern is the reporting of sexual assault and sexual harassment by several

female staff with one respondent citing they have contemplated suicide as a consequence

of the responses they have received from CFA management to their complaint. Another

respondent stated that their report of sexual assault in the workplace was aggressively

rejected by their manager leading to them feeling unable to report the matter further.

These behaviours are serious breaches of conduct and likely to have involved criminal

behaviour and it is deeply concerning that staff have reported not only the assaults but the

appalling and harmful responses when seeking to report them through their

supervisor/manager.

I was told [when seeking to report] that is just the way he works!!! I do not have faith

in the organisation to put the staff member first it is "about" the CFA image I believe

all policies relating to harassment etc. require a reviewing the victim is the last

person considered this is from personal experience as a victim of sexual assault by

[operational personnel]. (Female SR526)

I reported a case of sexual harassment by a senior member of staff. It was witnessed

by the then head of my department who promised to support me. He later changed

his mind and claimed to have seen nothing after a visit to the senior members city

office. I see bullying regularly towards a particular member of staff by their line

manager. It is further backed up by the next line manager - totally inappropriate.

Furthermore, even after recent training on the topic, comments were made by

members of staff that keeping the kitchen tidy was a woman's job. Maybe in other

countries - but this is Australia and 2016! My line manager has addressed it, but the

next one up the chain doesn't seem to think there is an issue. (Female SR33)

I have endured sexist comments about my appearance verging on the lewd and

people just tolerate it and in fact attack or put down the person who objects to it.

There is a real fear among staff that bullying and harassment is tolerated and even

rewarded with management refusing to act appropriately to address it.(SR473)

Respondent SR125 stated she was too fearful to report because of the poor organisational

culture she was working in which included a genuine fear of the ACO. This female staff

member provided great detail of the physical stress and psychological distress she

experienced which lead to depression and suicidal ideation requiring medical intervention

and ongoing counselling. From her detailed comments she did make confidential

disclosures of her mental health issues to close colleagues, some of whom were supportive

and others who inappropriately shared this information as gossip leading to additional


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bullying which in turn exacerbated feelings of depression. The respondent describes being

singled out a meeting by an ACO commented on her mental health issues adding that if she

did not Iike her work environment then she ought to seek employment elsewhere. Her

manager was present and afterwards apologised that was subject to the behaviour but felt

unable to address the ACO’s behaviour or the bullying for that matter. The respondent

provides detail of the severe and ongoing mental health issues she continues to grapple

with in an environment that is largely hostile to towards whilst staying silent about the

origins of her distress and no effort whatsoever to address her health and well-being issues

within the organisation, let alone the allegations of criminal sexual assault. (SR125)

The experience of this next respondent is not articulated as a form of sexualised behaviour

however their comment of feeling intimidated by a senior male manager who aggressively

approached the woman and pulled her towards him tightly so that their chests touched, is

clearly inappropriate conduct:

[Senior manager] approached me with a very abrupt demeanour including an overly

strong handshake pulling me into him resulting in chest-to-chest body contact (I felt

intimidated). During this intimidating greeting, he asked my name than asked me to

send him an email outlining why I wanted to work for [him]. I thought this was

extremely odd as I had already successfully gained employment… (parenthesis in

original) (Female SR504)

Several respondents whose comments are detailed elsewhere in this report (eg. SR491)

believe that sexual harassment of female staff is an issue at CFA and felt the survey ought to

have provided questions to enable this specific area of harassment to be better addressed.

13. Health Impacts:

The above focus provides segue to the important issue of staff well-being as a consequence

of the levels of bullying, harassment and other inappropriate and criminal behaviours

detailed by staff.

From my observations, [bullying/harassment] leads to staff wellbeing issues and

many staff resort to unhealthy ways of dealing with stress and fear caused by

bullying and harassment which in turn creates further poor culture and behaviours.

(Female, SR473)

I appreciate the opportunity to have opinion on this and hope the feedback highlights

how problematic this has become particularly to the mental health of staff. I truly

hope some robust mechanisms are put in place to help the vulnerable members and

make managers, staff and People and Culture accountable. There needs to be more

stringent penalties for those who participate in this behaviour and those who buck

the system. There needs to be one rule book not 10 depending on where you are in

the hierarchy. It's too confusing and depressing.(Female SR210)


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A common thread through the qualitative data highlighted health and welfare impacts for

staff. Many were explicit in identifying health and welfare impacts as a consequence of

bullying, harassment and other behaviours with many commenting that they did not enjoy

their work; did not enjoy coming to work with a number stating that they were currently

seeking employment elsewhere:

These behaviours have not made the work environment a reasonable place and many

are left feeling like they don't want to work at CFA any longer or they are taking time

off to address mental health issues resulting from bullying. Bullying behaviours have

also been made very evident through the language used and actions - words like

"steamrolling" have been used constantly. The constant shifting of goal

posts/expectations, work requirements and jostling for superiority/authority is being

experienced by many people currently…There is a significant need to look into the

leadership qualities of all our leaders and ensure there are no bullying or harassment

tendencies present…(Female SR517)

Due to the ongoing workplace stress and anxiety, I am now diagnosed with high

workplace stress and on a mental health plan arranged by my medical practitioner.

(Female SR16)

Deeply concerning is the spectrum of health and well-being impacts ranging from feelings of

frustration and despair to anxiety, depression, fear for personal safety and well-being in the

workplace to suicidal ideation and diagnosed clinical depression.

One female respondent (SR561) detailed that she had made a formal report of bullying by

operational personnel and demanded action which led to external assessment of her

complaint in her favour but wrote that the bullying continued:

even though an independent mediator agreed that the behaviour towards me was

inappropriate and bullying…I ended up having 6 weeks off [with] stress…had to take

medication to ease my anxiety and contemplated suicide as I felt so let down by

Management in CFA. (SR561)

Another respondent detailed a how she escalated her formal complaint to WorkSafe

Victoria following an increase in bullying, harassment and threats to her job because of her

internal complaint. She was advised that WorkSafe have no power to determine a finding or

take action other than to advise the organisation in question to advise employees of the

reporting process and for the organisation to follow process. The respondent detailed

debilitating stress leading to formal medical intervention and an assessment of severe stress

resulting in work cover leave and the associated health impacts that nearly ‘ended’ her life.

(SR556)

A female respondent detailed at length ongoing bullying they allege occurred over a period

of years which led to her making a formal complaint to HR Management. The respondent


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states that management initially pursued which was not successful and escalated the

bullying and harassment alongside other workplace repercussions. The respondent reports

that she felt further exposed by the lack of action to remedy the escalating situation and

with little concern for her welfare in the workplace. Her family were extremely concerned

for her well-being when she contemplated suicide and with their help she sought medical

intervention. The respondent identifies a ‘haze of depression’ during which time she could

barely cope with her job and felt ‘belittled’ and ‘dumped’ by CFA management with phone

calls and emails going unanswered for weeks on end which exacerbated her stress and well-

being. Indeed the respondent commented that she felt ‘physically unwell’ writing of her

experience in the survey however wanted CFA management to understand the extent of

bullying and the failure of management across the organisation to appropriately respond to

reports and show due care for staff. In addition the respondent details the impact this had

on her family as they watched her succumb to ill health and extreme psychological distress

and suicidal ideation because of the bullying adding that she advised CFA of the impact the

process was having on her and on her family but it was to no avail. Moreover, the

respondent alleges that other staff also experienced bullying by the same staff member and

would come to her seeking support and advice on the basis that she had experienced similar

(SR505).

A number of respondents said they had sought medical support and private counselling

assistance via mental health plans in order to address workplace stress caused by bullying,

harassment and other inappropriate conduct. Many lamented the fact that CFA promote

health and well balanced lifestyles yet fails to adhere to good practices that ensure the

safety, respect, dignity and well-being of staff. (SR16; SR505; SR556; SR236; SR210; R556;

SR527; SR211; SR558; SR68; SR83; SR76; SR167; SR561)

Additionally, many staff sought informal support from peers and colleagues or received such

support because the bullying and harassment was witnessed by peers and colleagues, and,

sometimes multiple staff experienced similar behaviour and so sought to be a support to

each other. Regrettably these active expressions of support and consolation were relied

upon by staff given the absence of management response to reports or an inadequate

response.

Many staff developed maladaptive coping mechanisms to avoid bullying, harassment and

other negative behaviours. Feeling fearful and unsafe in their workplace as a consequence

of workplace behaviour was raised several times and reporting the behaviour did not

ameliorate this sense of fear or concern for safety leading some respondents to request or

initiate being physically moved from that space or even the work locality.

Utilising sick leave as a means of dealing with stress and other health related issues was

raised numerous times as well as respondents avoiding attendance at meetings or other

workplace activities in order to avoid the behaviour directed at them.


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There is no transparent process that is consistently followed, or followed only when it

suits the manager. People who have tried to challenge these unhealthy practices or

call them out have found themselves suffer in their daily work. I am one such person

to suffer the challenge for a more ethical workplace. It teaches you to not speak up

for fear of not having a supportive working environment. It is sad, as CFA is an

organisation I am very proud to work for. It is a constant battle between just come in

and to your job, and then leave; versus come in and do your job to your fullest

potential. (Female SR236)

14. Repercussions:

It was clear that raising concerns about the conduct of another or seeking redress through

informal or formal mechanisms had unforeseen repercussions for many whilst many others

were cognisant that the organisational culture is such that repercussions are well-known

and as such, reporting or even raising of bullying, harassment or poor conduct is to be

avoided at all costs. Comments from staff included the inability to ‘call out’ poor behaviour,

despite CFA ‘values’ indicating otherwise, on the basis that fear of reprisal and actual

reprisal were a major concern for many staff.

The reach of this “brotherhood” is such that[staff fear even speaking out] for fear of

being targeted. The reach of this culture is such that I have anxiety that if the form of

words I have used are replicated exactly, I will be identifiable and have consequences

… I feared in filling out the survey honestly. I have seen someone targeted some years

ago who responded to an anonymous survey and who was (correctly) identified - not

me, but a colleague. I have stepped out in faith with the new CEO and hope that this

is truly anonymous. (Male SR220)

Bullying and harassment carried out by managers is harder to report - it's talked

about amongst staff but no action is taken for fear of losing employment, or being

targeted. (Female SR167)

As I see it, most people fear reporting bullying or harassment for fear of retribution or

the information falling on deaf ears - creating more stress through the process

and/or the fact that it cannot be kept confidential. Fear of not being able to keep

your job is another underlying factor. (Female SR162)

My manager was concerned and afraid to respond to the conduct, despite other staff

witnessing the bullying conduct of the staff member in question. Incredibly I was told

that the person doing the bullying was a UFU member and as I was on a contract,

this person could do serious harm to my ability to continue in my role because they

would 'target' me further and inform other 'management' and ensure I was not

offered further work.' My then manager asked me to 'be the bigger person in this and

just ignore it for my own wellbeing. (Female RD437)


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I have not ever worked in an organisation that is so dysfunctional and practices

aggressive behaviours that are then denied or ignored by management and others

and where those who try so speak up are attacked and targeted. I just hope I am not

identified by talking about these instances because it will lead…. to [being] targeted…

I am hoping that talking about this leads to real change and protection and support

for staff. CFA needs to ensure far better transparency and accountability around this

kind of behaviour. Staff must be taken seriously and I believe they need an external

person or group to properly investigate complaints and to ensure that staff who have

the courage to report genuine cases are not targeted for doing so. (Female SR473)

I experience staff commenting that they are afraid to say anything because of the

repercussions that will come back. Staff are silenced by fear, however I do see a

camaraderie between staff members to support each other through [bullying].

(Female SR 498)

It is hard to report bullying or harassment when supervisors and managers are the

ones doing the harassing or bullying as I would lose my job. (MALE) (RID282)

I was told to keep my head down and not cause a fuss. I felt like my job was in

jeopardy because I was unhappy with the way I was treated.(Female SR149)

[The] impact on my self worth and self esteem [from reporting] was long lasting

(Female SR533)

As people always say.... CFA is very much a family..... the Mafia. if you try and stand

up against it you are dead. (Male SR380)

Some people are more equal than others those who stand up or say anything often

get targeted themselves (Male SR391)

One respondent medically diagnosed with workplace stress and depression linked to

reported bullying was advised by HR that they would not be recording the medical diagnosis

in the appropriate database:

After having 2 injuries confirmed under Workcover processes, my injuries were not

listed on the CFA Injury database (CFA Safe). HR/Workcover Management advised

that this was the usual process as it protected the employee of the potential "stigma"

associated with Mental Health Issues. I found this very disturbing. The stigma or

perceived stigma relating to mental health injuries needs to be removed and records

need to be kept. This is the only way accurate data can be produced to support any

surveys and investigations such as these. Again, no-one is held accountable for not

recording my injuries on CFA Safe despite an official [external request]. (Female

SR556)

15. Who is reported in the survey as doing the bullying:


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Males were overwhelmingly bullying, harassment and other poor conduct. The survey did

not ask who offenders were in terms of gender role/rank however operational staff were

over-represented in the qualitative data. Staff in management roles featured in the data and

a small number of staff identified executive management at the level of ELT/OLT as

expressing behaviours towards staff deemed bullying and inappropriate.

16. Inadequate management of reports:

Overall 65.60% of all respondents were not satisfied with how their reports of bullying and

harassment to management was handled. Moreover, only 20% of all respondents ‘Agreed’

that managers and supervisors respond appropriately to allegations of bullying and

harassment with 34%’ Disagreeing’ that managers and supervisors respond appropriately to

allegations of bullying and harassment. Qualitative comments helped to shed light on how

staff view, experience and understand management responses to bullying, harassment and

other poor behaviours.

Both my supervisor and unit manager expressed they felt disempowered to take

action, and encouraged me to speak directly to the person, despite my indicating I

was concerned about repercussions. The subsequent advice from my supervisor was

to ignore the behaviour, and keep him informed... I do not believe that was a fair or

just way to manage the issue, for anyone involved. (Female SR433)

CFA managers have very little self awareness, and are passive and avoidant because

there are no consequences for them when these matters go unchecked…and many

issues are not well handed and poorly managed making things worse not better. I

think terms like bullying and harassment are unhelpful in organisations like CFA -

because the terms have legal meanings that are different from the every day

understanding, their use allows for obfuscation and avoidance. Inappropriate or

unacceptable behaviour are better terms to use in my view, as there is really no

wriggle room. I think that the white, middle class Christian maleness of the

organisation is pervasive, destructive and self serving. Ironically, it is also ultimately

self defeating and I congratulate our new CEO {Lucinda Nolan] for calling out the

obvious. The Emperor's New Clothes are on show for all to see! (Female SR126)

I think there is a culture of sweeping issues under the carpet where they require

confronting, and this applies to management right up to executive level. There is

ample evidence of people not behaving with respect towards others in the

organisation. I think this is the starting point that enables behaviour to escalate to

bullying and harassment. I believe that if there was a stronger culture of ensuring

respectful behaviour at all times, there would be less intimidation and greater

effective communication. (Female SR230)


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The organisation seems to be good at paying lip service to what constitutes good

behaviour but when it comes to reporting inappropriate behaviour, supervisors lose

their spine because to really challenge the perpetrator means creating a "shit-storm"

that does not reflect well on their own career, the results for the victim tend to be

futile or the perpetrator gets a smack on the wrist so the process becomes a waste of

time and effort. (Male SR305)

CFA have an inefficient and outdated discipline process which is not in keeping with

current times for both staff and volunteers. There is definitely an attitude of 'sweep it

under the carpet' or 'move the person somewhere else to do less harm'. We are not

open honest or transparent about our discipline process nor the outcomes. There is

no natural justice or procedural fairness in our systems and processes. There is

systemic harassment and inequitable treatment of personnel. There is a culture of

'mates' rather than merit based appointments. There is also a culture of keep a lid on

it, if we don't acknowledge it - it must not be happening. This is not about equality or

gender these comments are about how the organisation as a whole treats its entire

workforce. The agency has forgotten to value its people and what it is here for - it

needs to go back to basic principles and remember that its people are everything to

the organisation. (Female SR219)

I think more of an issues is Managers not managing issues, letting things go to the

point that the member is psychologically damaged by CFA and there (sic) only choice

is to leave. (Female SR243)

I think that most of our managers, especially the operational stream, do not have

the skills to manage [bully and harassment] these situations very well.(Female

SR362)

Bullying and harassment carried out by managers is harder to report - it's talked

about amongst staff but no action is taken for fear of losing employment, or being

targeted. (Female SR167)

We can talk about this all we want, but it is about time we had the hard conversation

and were honest with our people - stop covering up the shit and that needs to start at

the top. I would only report serious harassment and bullying e.g. physical as I have no

faith that the organisation would do something about it, and I have no faith that I

would not be blamed for making a report and being made the scape goat and my

reputation would be destroyed. (Female SR219)

There is no transparent process that is consistently followed, or followed only when it

suits the manager. People who have tried to challenge these unhealthy practices or

call them out have found themselves suffer in their daily work.(Female SR 236)


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Managers try to avoid conflict with region managers above all other

considerations.(Male SR349)

I think managers across the organisation are poorly trained in the issue and in how to

manage it when they confront it. As a first step, managers seek to make the issue

someone else's problem.(Male SR101)

Whilst managers and supervisors may respond appropriately to bullying and

harassment claims, I don't feel that they have support above them to do anything

about it - There is no accountability for anyone is CFA. That includes staff and

volunteers. People need to be made accountable for their actions if the issue will

ever be fixed though. (Female SR10)

Our organisation needs to develop appropriate performance management protocols

that are administered fairly across the whole organisation… We also need to have

somewhere confidential and welcoming to go to when we feel that we are being

treated differently to the rest of the workforce - we need to put the H (that's H for

human by the way) back in h.r. (Male SR247)

One does not have to have personally experienced bullying and other poor behaviours to

know that informal or formal reporting is not a safe option to pursue. Staff who knew of

colleagues who experienced bully or witnessed bullying observed the inadequate and poor

responses of managers and wider organisational processes which cultivate a climate of

mistrust and fear with regard to reporting such behaviours. The following respondents

spoke of their awareness of either being told or witnessing the bulling of other staff:



management. (Male SR261)

I was advised [by colleague] of bullying by a person. So much so that they went on

sick leave and eventually left CFA - still with sick leave (and perhaps other leave still

outstanding ), because they couldn't bear the strain any more. (Female SR512)

I have observed behaviors that I would describe as classical Textbook bullying, but

when I approach the victim, they don’t want to [make] a complaint. (Male SR522)

I have observed shameful behaviour of our station staff towards female MPs and

obsequious consent from our female paid firefighters that concedes that most

women should meekly accept they don't meet the physical criteria to be a 'real'

firefighter safely even though the criteria probably doesn't meet any modern

standard for the requirements of the job. (Female SR351)


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In one instance, upon raising my concerns about the bullying I had observed

occurring to someone else, it was handled very well, only following a catalyst. The

situation was allowed to escalate until one party was so impeding by their stress

reaction that they could no longer attend work, for some months. At this point,

appropriate interventions and support were put in place. (Female SR83)

With regard to the last comment above, the few reports of a positive outcome to a report

was tempered by fact that the process was arduous and emotionally and physically taxing

for the staff member involved:

My involvement with bulling and harassment was when I was [acting] role and had

to deal with claims of both harassment and bulling from another employee. this in

itself was very stressful, however I had excellent support from HR at HQ and CFA

management. (Female SR203)

Initially it was considered that I misinterpreted the behaviour. Only after the

behaviour escalated was it then handled. And then it went a bit overboard.

Eventually I was satisfied with the result, but there was a lot of unnecessary stress

getting there. (Female SR300)

17. Need for better education of management to be more effective in addressing

workplace conduct:

In the qualitative data many respondents expressed a view that aside from improved

processes, managers needed specific education on how to handle workplace bullying ,

harassment and other inappropriate behaviours in order to effect positive organisational

and cultural change.

Some managers (all levels) lead the way in bullying, but this is because they are not

educated in what constitutes bullying in the work place. They believe its leadership.

So if they believe that getting the job done any way, is leadership, then they think

they are doing a great job, which is really sad. There is a big difference between

leadership and bullying. There is no bullying education program at CFA and all levels

of staff need to be held accountable. A 360 degree program can be helpful to all

concerned, provided there is no retribution.(Male SR185)

I believe there is limited experience and competence in the skills of many managers

with handling situations that require addressing staff behaviour that isn't

appropriate. I would note that it is very pleasing to see the clear demand for respect

coming from Lucinda. It is refreshing and it has been the subject of numerous

conversations amongst staff. (Female SR230)


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Our managers and supervisors seem to be under resourced, misinformed and

sometimes undermined by our own organisation, there is a culture of rushing and not

dedicating the time and commitment to resolving issues that arise. Providing support

and resources to these people is really important so they can support CFA staff and

volunteers who need them for support and advice.(Female SR351)

I appreciate the opportunity to have opinion on this and hope the feedback highlights

how problematic this has become particularly to the mental health of staff. I truly

hope some robust mechanisms are put in place to help the vulnerable members and

make managers, staff and People and Culture accountable. There needs to be more



the hierarchy. It's too confusing and depressing.(Female SR210)

Notwithstanding issues with managers HR/People and Culture as a department were

identified as a problematic area in terms of adequately responding to reports and requests

for advice and support. It needs to be noted that respondents were commenting on

experiences across time periods however a number indicated their experiences were

relatively recent :

I would not have the confidence to approach People & Culture consultants with any

problems I might have with regard to bullying or the like.(Female SR117)

It appears many managers surround themselves with family and friends who once

hired are either indebted to them or protected by them. People and Culture are also a

part of the problem. They permit managers to by-pass the system when it suits which

is totally unacceptable. Rules are there for a reason and should be abided by

everyone equally. Managers and People and Culture should lead by example not

contribute to the problem by abusing the rules and people's trust. I appreciate the

opportunity to have opinion on this and hope the feedback highlights how

problematic this has become particularly to the mental health of staff. I truly hope

some robust mechanisms are put in place to help the vulnerable members and make

managers, staff and People and Culture accountable. There needs to be more



the hierarchy. It's too confusing and depressing. (Female SR210)

We also need to have somewhere confidential and welcoming to go to when we feel

that we are being treated differently to the rest of the workforce - we need to put the

H (that's H for human by the way) back in h.r. (Parenthesis in original) (Male SR247)

I went to HR who gave me some things to try to fix the relationship, they didn't help

much...didn't work, found a new way of working…(Female SR166)


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My direct managers handled it very well, but it required higher level intervention.

Human Resources (at the highest Level) was engaged, action was dragged out and

not significant. The perpetrators were temporarily moved aside and then promoted.

This did not send a good message to the victims or the perpetrator. (Parenthesis in

original) (Female SR550)

Having dealt with CFA HR, I am absolutely appalled at the lack of knowledge and

support that Department has shown me as an Employee.(Female SR556)

I spoke to [HR] about a bulling case involving (senior operational staff). I was told not

to continue with the complaint as it was his word against mine......(Parenthesis in

original) (Male SR355)

There was a culture and history of poor (bullying) behaviour. I took it to HR, and nil

action. (Parenthsis in original) (Female SR575)

The HR Department of the time didn't want to know about my situation.(Female

SR92)

Respondents generally were of the view that many staff who behaved and performed

poorly continued to be rewarded. It is clear from the overwhelming narrative responses

from staff that their experience is that bullying and aggressive behaviours have become

emblematic of CFA’s organisational culture.

In my first three weeks at CFA I was constantly harassed by a member of staff. After

reporting this to his Manager, I was told that it was just how he behaved and I should

work around him. The bullying continued and I quickly moved departments. This man

has since been promoted and is still a bully. The environment has definitely changed

since then and I have never felt in danger since that time. (Female SR216)

Staff and volunteers that have long records of poor behaviour should be removed out

of the organisation rather than tolerated. (Male SR521)




After I reported [bullying] he continued to bully me with a smirk because he knew he

had the upper hand and there would be no repercussions for him. Initially when I

told him I was taking it further he told me to "go ahead, that he'd been down that

path many a time, go right ahead" was his response. I had mental and physical

reactions while I was under his management and I still do when I see this person.

Quite frankly I not only HATE him, I DESPISE HIM, he makes me sick to my stomach. I

documented all the issues and compiled a detailed report on what I had

experienced. When I took it to [appropriate management] it was adamantly clear


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that you have no chance of seeking suitable protection against bullying from

management. My claims were dismissed without any investigation. While I am in a

better place now within CFA it makes me so angry to know this person continues to

be in a position of authority and therefore has the power to continue to make

people's lives a misery. (Female SR210)

18. CFA as a place of inertia

Respondents commented on a wide range of issues that have been organised into themes in

this report. Interspersed throughout the commentary is the sense of inertia within CFA

culture that militates against organisational change and progression. A strong sense of this

comes through the themes already detailed themes in this report and respondent quotes

below are used to illuminate this concept further. Comments indicate an organisational

culture that is risk averse with a fear of failure and a culture of blame which inhibits

innovation and creativity.




I feel that as a level X I should have the ability to make decisions, however i feel that

the organisation is paralysed in doing this, as a result I am no where near as effective

as I could be, nor do I challenge and innovate as much as I use to...I just do my work

and try not to create "issues" I do not feel that it is a gender issue, but more of a

manager issue...too much empire building, standing on people to get to the top and

quickly jumping to critise (sic) before finding out what happened. There is no room

for innovation as their(sic) could be error, and I don’t feel that there is any allowance

for that. As long as our managers look good, even if what we are doing is just

tokenistic and a waste of time and money...that’s what we do. Doesn’t make me feel

inspired anymore. ...now I feel like a lab rat that isn’t sure which one has the treat

and which one has the zap, so I don’t do either!! So many of my collegues in my

department feel the same. This has been in the last 3-4 years, prior to that i loved this

place...I still love my job and working with volunteers, that’s what keeps me here!

(Female 166)

The culture of CFA is... -fit in -don't make waves -be one of the boys if you want to

succeed.(Female SR372)

CFA has a strong "avoidance" culture, making it difficult to change, innovate and

improve. Unless we can address some of the underlying cultural issues, somewhat

pessimistically I fear that any initiatives to improve diversity in CFA, will like so many

other things, ultimately fail. In saying all that, I am a believer in the old adage about


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being the change you want to see and despite my underlying pessimism will fully

support any future initiatives leading to an improvement in our CFA. (Male SR290)

CFA’s recruitment process favours people with strong and aggressive personalities.

There is scant regard for previous experience and if you question peoples (sic)

motives, they can become quite aggressive. There is certainly a culture of favouritism

for friends, which means that not necessarily the right person lands the more choice

roles. If you want to succeed, you have to ‘fit in’ and keep quiet. There is a strong

culture of analysing the words people use, sometimes using ¾ of a meeting to discuss

terminology, rather than actually getting on with the job…. It wastes a lot of time

that is unnecessary and is at times a tactic to silence people. People also block other

people and do not provide them information if they have a personal issue with them,

which is unprofessional and costs CFA a lot of money in wasted time or paralysis of

people being able to do their jobs. (Female SR580)

Groups of staff form tight clans that do not admit 'new' people leaving individuals

feeling isolated. The concepts of collaboration and matrix work arrangements are

often not understood and sector/region/directorate alliances tend to drive

judgement of the worth of an idea or project. Bringing fresh ideas and new ways of

working to the table can bring up stone walling and rejection that can leave

individuals feeling frustrated and unproductive. (Female SR527)

Rather than embracing diversity in all its forms there seems to be a culture here of

destroying those who do not 'fit' the narrow stereotypical structures within CFA. It

seems that women who have aspirations or dare to speak up are negatively viewed

by male staff as well as other females who have adopted the hyper-masculine culture

that exists within CFA. Ideas are not welcome...and generally squashed and people

seem fearful of anything new…..if [you] want to work at CFA [you] need to be sure

that you don't stand out…. CFA is not a 21st century organisation and I believe it

keeps people in check through fear, intimidation and ostricisation (Female SR473)

[CFA needs] a course of action that works towards dismantling the structures of the

past, as they are not sufficient to foster a dynamic, world-class emergency service

organisation. Fundamental changes in management thinking are required…. if CFA is

to become a truly diverse and inclusive organisation. Having the same opportunities

to progress to senior management [as] operational firefighters who come into HQ

from station. Being valued for the education, skills and experience that I bring to the

role I perform and to CFA; and not having them devalued because they were not

gained in an operational firefighting environment. That in order for some people to

gain power, others will have to relinquish it. (Female SR530)


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18. Values

NOTE: ANGE I HAVE NOT COMPLETED THIS – SHOULD WE INCLUDE COMMENTS ABOUT THE LACK

OF VALUES EG. TALKING VALUES BUT NOT PRACTISING THEM ETC.

I would love for CFA to represent a true cross section of our society; gender, ethnic, age,

ability, socio-economic, LGBTI and whatever and whoever else our society consists of. I

expect this organisation to uphold our values and virtues and be a model of behaviour for our

community.(FEMALE) (RID351)

19. Comments on the survey tool:

The Survey as a Welcome Initiative:

It was pleasing to see unsolicited comments about the survey initiative which indicated not only a

sense of anticipation for genuine change but an opportunity, indeed ‘permission’ to express

experiences and opinions about gender inclusion and workplace culture through such an avenue.

A number of people expressed thanks for the survey as it addressed an important issue and gave an

avenue which many felt was the first time they were given an anonymous voice to articulate

experiences and their views about organisational culture and structure. Many also thanked

‘Lucinda’ in her CEO role for making organisational culture and structure a priority and for

recognising gender equity issues. Several respondents cited that the presence of Lucinda has

inspired many female staff and reignited faith that aspects of organisational culture would be taken

seriously and addressed in a thorough manner. Many were also explicit in saying they hoped that the

result of the survey would be available to staff and would be acted upon to address the serious

concerns being raised.

19.1 A sample of the positive comments are included in the box below

Thank you for aspiring to make CFA a workplace where women feel valued and

are provided with equal career opportunities as their male colleagues.(Female

SR504)

Thank you for the opportunity to participate.(Male SR45)

Believe you will have success with this survey and people will speak up, given you

assure anonymity and no one will be allowed to pierce that by narrowing down

the answers to a sample of a few names analyzing answers to the first few

questions, great intent and good luck! looking forward to hear some condensed

results, maybe a bit more detailed to work with than the generics of the Fire

Services Review.(Male SR120)

I hope this isn't just another "tick the box exercise" and things actually start to

change. There's always a lot of talk but no real action. I look forward to seeing

what comes out of this exercise. Thank you for the opportunity to

contribute.(Female SR430)

Thank you for providing this opportunity. It will be interesting to see what is done

with this information and what positive change will happen for CFA. (FEMALE)

(SR236)

Given the context of the CEO Update, this is a great initiative, thank-you for


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19.2 Negative Comments about the Survey:

While positive comments heavily outweighed negative comments, a small of respondents

commented negatively on the survey. Comments were largely confined to cynicism that the survey

would make any difference on the basis that previous CFA staff surveys did not lead to any positive

change and survey findings were not disseminated to staff. A couple of respondents questioned why

the survey was only for PTA staff and not operational staff and a couple of respondents were critical

of the survey addressing gender diversity and inclusion.

I am a PTA staff member that works with Operations and

volunteers, this survey seemed aimed only at the PTA employees

and not CFA as a whole. (Male SR490)

I am quite cynical that this survey will actually achieve

anything…..(Female SR245)

Surveys often pay lip-service to issues - they may identify that

there is an issue, but actually addressing any issue is much more

difficult - especially in an entrenched culture like CFA (or any

other long-established body or institution). (Female SR312)

We do lots of surveys, none seem to make the slightest

difference, and aren't confidential. (Female SR389)

I really hope that this is not a tokenistic approach to a very

serious issue within our organisation. I look forward to the

outcomes of the survey and the actions that the organisation

takes to change the culture that currently exists.(Female SR558)

Difficult to respond to some of the survey questions, e.g. 'When I

work, people treat each other with respect and courtesy' 'Staff

communicate with one another in a respectful way' on the

'strongly/agree to strongly/disagree' response scale, because it

could be certain individuals who do not treat or communicate


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20. Concluding comments:

Ninety eight percent of respondents provided qualitative remarks. Many wrote large

amounts of text that were rich in detail and it was clear that the vast majority had given

thoughtful, reflective and careful consideration to what they wrote. Moreover is the

poignancy of much of the qualitative data with many expressing hope that their openness

and honesty would be taken seriously and acted upon; with others saying ‘thank you’ for the

opportunity to at-last have CFA show interest in the lived reality of the working

environment and culture of a significant body of CFA staff. So many staff expressed an

urgency about the current organisation culture being addressed and asked about the results

being made available to staff and reported to other government bodies and a keen desire to

see the CEO and OLT now act on the issues raised.

With regard organisational behaviour and the work environment the dominant descriptive

theme identified an organisation highly tolerant of poor behaviour and a strong anti-ethical

attitude around bullying, harassment and other inappropriate behaviours in the workplace

directed at and amongst staff. This is heightened by a culture of non-reporting of such

behaviours and indeed a general fear of reporting based on either first-hand experience that

no action is taken or awareness from the experience of others that reporting is futile and

likely to result in negative repercussions.

More serious is the allegations of criminal sexual assault and other serious forms of bullying

leading to serious physical and mental health impacts including suicidal ideation and

medical interventions. Due to a lack of proper process and accountability many staff

practised self-care through maladaptive coping strategies as a means of keeping safe in the

workplace or attending to their health needs.


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From the hundreds of responses, the general tenor of management responses to their

complaints was that the behaviour is simply the way staff work at CFA and there was no

sense of redress and if staff did pursue those behaving inappropriately they risked raising

the ire of management and the alleged offending staff member with workplace isolation

and potentially the loss of their job or career prospects a likely outcome. Other respondents

expressed a kind of helplessness within the workplace with one respondent stating they

contemplated suicide due to ongoing stress and targeted bullying. Many other respondents

spoke of impacts to their health as they battled a workplace where they encounter daily

encounters of inappropriate behaviour.

The vast majority of respondents detailed their own experiences of bullying, harassment or

other inappropriate behaviours and where respondents referred to the experience of

another staff member it was most often based on their knowledge of that experience as

they were a supporting peer or close work colleague and had often witnessed the

behaviour. A small number of respondents provided what might be termed vexatious

comments largely comprising views about other staff based on hearsay from other

colleagues and in some instances identifying the parties they were speaking about.

Staff who were relatively new to CFA were keenly aware that the culture at CFA was

anathema to their previous employment with many expressing concern at what they

described as a lack of gender inclusion; lack of respect (especially for women); feeling

devalued for their skills; a work environment easily threatened by new ideas and new

energy and an organisation heavily based on cliques and family/friendship networks that

militated against inclusivity and a professional work environment.

PTA staff were not the only ones identified as behaving inappropriately as operational staff

were consistently identified as those responsible for bullying, harassmentand other

inappropriate behavoiurs. In addition, the majority of PTA staff expressed opinions about

overt negative treatment directed towards them by operational staff with many describing

PTA staff being viewed and treated as second and third class citizens within the

organisation.

Many spoke of a divide between operational and non-operational and renounced the

organisational mantra of ‘One CFA’ saying instead there existed ‘two’ CFA with PTA staff as

the disadvantaged appendage to operational staff. This divide was described as one marked

by lack of merit based treatment; inequity in remuneration, role and duties; operational

staff performing same roles/duties at PTA but being paid at a much higher rates; denigration

and lack of respect for PTA staff by operational staff and Operational EBA impacting

negatively on PTA staff.

Generally, PTA staff expressed a view that CFA management lack respect for the work of

PTA staff and the need for a serious review of the duties and remuneration of PTA staff.


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More broadly, with regard to organisational culture many staff, both female and male

referred to CFA being a ‘boys club,’ that was male dominated and maintained largely by

operational staff with ingrained disadvantages to PTA staff, in particular, female staff. The

majority of female PTA staff referred to a cultural climate in which they felt disrespected,

devalued, underpaid and worked in an environment of structural inequality and

disadvantage. There is a high tolerance of sexist attitudes and articulation of those attitudes

through language and behaviours and the over-representation of female in lower level

clerical roles heightens their vulnerability in an organisation marked by ‘double dominance’

where there is numerical dominance of men as well as a dominant, alpha male culture.

As the survey bears out, female staff on average have slightly higher educational

qualifications than their male PTA counterparts and are far more highly educated than

operational staff. Female staff are well cognisant that they are located in lower level roles

and link this to the dominant masculinist culture of the organisation with the majority also

cognisant that CFA offers little opportunity for progression and in fact largely devalues the

expertise, skill-sets and experience that women have to offer to organisation.

A more detailed analyses of responses will follow in the next working report suffice to say

there is a necessary urgency to take serious heed from what staff in the survey are telling us

but with particular relevance to self-reports of bullying and harassment.

Moreover, for so many the survey is a touchstone through which staff have used their voice

as a social barometer of CFA as an organisation in which they work. Our response both in

terms of what we do now, how we do it and the timeliness of our response is likely to be the

true litmus test of the executive management’s stated commitment to challenge, address

and change the organisational culture at CFA.

Notwithstanding this important fact, another critical dimension that must be articulated is

the moral, ethical and indeed legal obligation we have to ensure a robust, fearless and

timely response to the literally hundreds and hundreds of staff voices that make up the data

in this survey. We encouraged staff to be open and honest and to trust us with their

experiences and opinions and clearly the vast majority have done just that.

More poignantly are comments from some respondents sharing what is clearly painful

experiences that continue to impact on them and within the text and cloaked with

anonymity, they ask us, almost pleading with us, to ensure that the survey really is

anonymous and that the information they provided will not be used in its wholeness

because it may lead to others identifying them. Several staff member openly emailed us

saying they very much wanted to partake in the survey but were simply too fearful that if

they detailed their experiences it would possibly identify them and they simply had no trust

in anyone as to what might then happen to them. It was patently clear that staff have little

trust in CFA processes and procedures. It was disheartening and indeed distressing to be

made aware of these concerns but far more distressing are the written narratives of staff,


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many hoping that the arrival of a new executive leadership team are the necessary

precursor to real organisational change.

The survey findings provide an outstanding opportunity for understand and reflect upon the

words of PTA staff and to act on the experiences, views and advice contained in the

material. The sheer volume of data collected has much to offer to organisation. Many staff

took the opportunity to provide insight and advice they felt could help direct and support

improvement to current policies and practice in the area of human resource management

systems and process as well as administrative and operational roles and structure across the

organisation. These insights were like gems and demonstrate the wealth of information,

ideas and good will that so many staff possess in CFA.

This interim report is not the place to provide these suggestions in part because they would

require more detail and context about the issues they consider are in need of remedy and

because the detailed provision of these suggestions may well identify the respondent or

work team. That said, it would be advantageous to analyse these suggestions more

thoroughly in a way that would enable them to be linked to the issues they seek to remedy

and provided to management staff working in those areas (eg. P&C; volunteerism;

recruitment and training; IT) de-identified suggestions. (need to add more to this)

ACCOMPLISHED AND ONGOING TASKS:

Descriptive statistical analysis has been undertaken to identify findings across each

of the five sections of the survey.

First layer of qualitative data applying open coding has been accomplished with axial

coding underway.

Relevant literature review commenced with literature searches; gathering of

literature; reading and analyses of literature

NEXT STAGES:

Organisation of forums and individual interviews.

Transcription and analyses of qualitative data from forums/interviews

Completion of axial coding stages.

Synthesis of all data from survey and forums and interviews

Preparation of major report and recommendations for consideration

Preparation of written papers for publication


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(Horizontal violence – how gender barriers, inequity and disparity can lead to HV among women

within male dominated organisations and settings – go on to this in later reporting as well as staff

generally.)

CFA FAMILY

There is not 'one' CFA. There is Operations and then everyone else. Until this division is addressed

and rectified and clear direction is given starting at the top, I fail to see how there can ever be a 'one'

CFA.(Male SR233)

Promotion and quality work does not always end up with those most capable but depends on

someones standing within the 'CFA family'.(Male SR80)

REFERENCES TO DATE:

Baigent, D. (2001) Gender Relations, Masculinities and the Fire Service: A Qualitative Study of FireFighters’ Constructions of Masculinity During FireFighting and Their Social Relations of Work. PhD Thesis, Anglia Polytechnic University, UK. De Haas, S. (2009) (need to obtain book)


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Dijk, T. (1998). Critical discourse analysis. http://www.hum.uva.nl/~teun/cda.htm [Accessed 7February 2011] Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532-550.

Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

Hurworth, R. (2000). Analysing qualitative data. Higher degree methodological research workshop. Footscray Park Campus, Victoria University of Technology, Victoria, Australia. Miles, M. B., & Huberman, M. A. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). London: Sage Publications.

Minichiello, V., Aroni, R., Timewell, E., & Alexander, L. (1990). In-depth Interviewing: Researching people. Melbourne: Longman Cheshire.

Moran-Ellis, J., Alexander, V. D., Cronin, A., Dickinson, M., Fielding, J., Sleney, J., & Thomas, H. (2006). Triangulation and integration: processes, claims and implications. Qualitative Research, 6(1), 45-59. doi: 10.1177/1468794106058870 Neuman, W. L., & Wiegand, B. (2000). Criminal justice research methods. Sydney: Allyn and Bacon. Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed) Newbury Park, California: Sage. Perlesz, A., & Lindsay, J. (2003). Methodological triangulation in researching families: Making sense of dissonant data. International Journal of Social Science Research Methodology: Theory and Practice, 6(1), 25-40.

Richardson, L. (2000). Writing: a method of inquiry. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research. (2nd ed) Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.

Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. London: Sage Publications, Inc.

Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998) Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nded.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Trochim, W. (1989). Outcome pattern matching and program theory. Evaluation and Program Planning, 12, 355-366.

Yin, R. K. (1994). Case study research: Design and methods (2nd ed). London: Sage Publications.

http://www.hum.uva.nl/~teun/cda.htm

Documents

INTERIM REPORT ON GENDER DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION 2016 SURVEY · Prepared by Prof. Caroline Taylor and Angela Seach, People and Culture 3 | P a g e If this the first Gender Diversity