International Women's Day 2022

A message from Raewyn Bleakley, Deputy Chief Executive Office of the Chief Executive

It’s a privilege to have a leading role for women’s development within the organisation. It’s an area I’m hugely passionate about as Fire and Emergency should be a place where everyone can thrive and we benefit greatly from a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve.

To celebrate and acknowledge International Women’s Day 2022, I hosted a trans-Tasman roundtable with wāhine from Fire and Emergency and Fire and Rescue New South Wales. Thank you to Barbara Olah, Rochelle Martin and Rachael Thorp for representing Fire and Emergency, and thank you to Megan Stiffler, Cheryl Steer and Bronnie Mackintosh for joining from Fire and Rescue NSW.

The purpose of the session was to create connections and share insights and ideas on how we can attract and retain women in the fire services, how we continue to develop our women and the challenges and barriers women face.

The recording of the session is available below and I hope this is the start of an ongoing relationship with Fire and Rescue NSW, as we continue to connect and work towards improving outcomes for our wāhine.