Big problems with the Richmond fire department in the last year. Women were verbally abused by their male co-workers, they were denied the right to their own seperate bathroom and were made the subject of offensive and sexist practical jokes.
When some women tried to raise the issue the fire department administration told them to buck up and get used to it. They finally took the issue to the BC Human Rights Commission where the RFD was thoroughly chastized (and rightly so) in the court and in the media.
This is one of many remedial measures to have some type of gender parity in the work place for female firefighters. When you look at it in isolation it seems quite silly but there are very serious reasons as to why we have got to this point. Sad really.
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