Fire service blasted as ‘institutionally racist’ as report declares firemen ‘too white’ and ‘too male’

Fire chiefs have declared the UK’s fire service excessively male and white, according to a new report.

The same research has also suggested that firemen’s commitment to “inclusion” is equally as important as their “competence” in leadership programmes.

The research, commissioned by the National Fire Chiefs Council, described the service as “institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic”.

The report added that firemen in Britain failed to represent a “diverse” society with less than 10 per cent of the force being made up of women and 5.4 per cent belonging to ethnic minorities, according to data sourced in March 2024.

In wider society, around 51 per cent of the population are women and 18.3 per cent belong to ethnic minorities.

Praised by the NFCC for helping to support “safe and inclusive places to work”, the report said: “The common ‘image’ of a firefighter is, for the most part, of a white heterosexual male turning out in a fire engine to fight fire.

“The diversity of the service needs to be much more reflective of the communities it serves and the wide range of services it delivers.

“Whilst progress has been made, the pace has been slow and progressive action has been applied inconsistently. Too many people are still being let down.”

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Speaking out against the report’s verdict, ex-council member of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) told The Telegraph that the service’s bosses ought to focus on the task at hand instead of ”manipulating the workforce demographic”.

While public services should ensure that everyone from all backgrounds can join the service and “prejudice must be tackled where it exists”, he condemned “arbitrary targets for recruitment” as “it crosses over into engineering”.

He further speculated that there were a number of reasons why specific groups might choose to not pursue certain careers, citing “few male midwives and hardly any female refuse collectors”.

“We should stop fixating on manipulating the workforce demographic in certain public services and concentrate more on ensuring that these services perform better for the public,” he told The Telegraph.

“Leadership programmes need to focus as much on inclusion as they do on operational and strategic competence,” the report’s authors wrote.

The report adds that “harassment, abuse and discrimination” exists across the board, with members exhibiting “microaggressions”.

Its researchers demanded a “radical overhaul” to make the misconduct system “more professional, nationally consistent” which should be “based on evolving good practice”.

NFCC chair Mark Hardingham said the organisation was “committed to delivering” on the report’s findings.

He said: “Our efforts to improve culture and inclusion must be continually embedded into everything we do.

“We acknowledge the dedication of those driving positive change in fire and rescue services but we also recognise that inclusion is not yet felt by everyone and change is not always happening fast or consistently enough.”