National Women in Fire Fighting Conferences,
(WIFF) 2005 & 2006
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WIFF2005
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Taped recordings of WIFF2005 The proceedings of WIFF2005 were recorded. My aim is to donate these recordings to the National Film and Sound Archives. In May 2005 over one hundred and twenty women involved in fire fighting work across Australia came together for the first time to talk about their experiences. Called WIFF2005, the Forum at which these women talked resonated with the love they had for fire fighting work, the frustrations and challenges they faced as women in the fire services, and the hopes they had for the future of the industry and their participation within it. Women left the Forum invigorated, challenged, confronted, and supported. Some went on to seek promotions; others stayed in their jobs rather than quitting. Still others felt connected in ways they had not experienced before. For some, little changed. Since WIFF2005, it is clear that some fire agencies, unions, and peak bodies heard the voice of the Forum. It was an important beginning. Delegates at the Forum indicated that it WAS the beginning - they asked for more opportunities to be heard, and more opportunities to listen to others with advice, ideas and strategies. WIFF2006 responds directly to the feedback given by delegates in 2005. Inspired by the theme "Same but Different" we aim to generate debate about the meaning of diversity within the fire services, and take a hard look at the issues women told us they sometimes face. Through a series of key note speakers, papers, workshops, discussions and tabletop scenarios, delegates will have opportunities to access new ideas, develop new skills, and debate with other men and women about diversity. But we also hope to hear some answers to the hard questions that have been asked of the industry. What cultural practices undermine women fire fighters? What are agencies doing to develop a workforce that is "same but different"? | The WIFF2005 Conference Program
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WIFF2006
Controversy raged at WIFF2006 when the UFUA - the National United Fire Fighters Union of Australian banned women from WA and Victoria from attending the conference. This was in 2006! The letters banning attendance are worth preserving for the sake of history.
| Abstracts and Program, WIFF2006.
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