Firefighter
One in three girls could be set to ditch traditional female careers in favour of those normally associated with men, a new survey of 14 - 16 yr old girls, has found.
This comes at a time when women are significantly under represented in the fire service - just over 3 per cent of firefighters in England are female. This hints at a very different, more female make up for the Fire Service in 5 years time.
The Communities and Local Government’s ‘Ordinary People, Extraordinary Careers’ survey showed that over a third (36 per cent) of girls polled dream of having a traditionally male job, such as firefighting, joining the armed forces or becoming a footballer.
Almost 14 per cent of girls admitted that they had chosen a career path not usually associated with women because they didn’t want a job that was seen as ‘girlie’.
Although the same teenage girls surveyed rated Cheryl Cole as their number one role model, they don't all necessarily want to follow in her glamourous career footsteps. Instead they are dreaming of challenging roles to rival their male peers.
The poll of 2,000 girls aged between 14 - 16 revealed that a police officer is the most popular stereotypically ‘male’ career choice for teenage girls. Other male dominated jobs include becoming a professional footballer, joining the armed forces, and becoming a firefighter, electrician, plumber or pilot.
Responding to the findings of the survey Dany Cotton (deputy assistant commissioner for London Fire Brigade and member of Networking Women in the Fire and Rescue Service) said, ‘In the Fire and Rescue Service women firefighters do exactly the same job as men.
'Being a firefighter isn’t about being exceptionally strong. Nor does a firefighter only fight fires. Firefighters have to be good communicators, sensitive to people’s needs.
'Girls should no longer worry about whether they would be able to succeed in a career that has traditionally been dominated by men. I did it. So can they.'
The survey also found that:
* 81 per cent of the girls polled think women should be able to do every job; and,
* 86 per cent think that women should be treated exactly the same as men if they do a ‘stereotypically male’ job
But it’s not all plain sailing for girls when it comes to choosing their career. The survey found that while almost two thirds of parents had not tried to talk their daughters out of their career choice; 26 per cent of girls surveyed said that their parents were worried because their career choice was stereotypically associated with men.
The top 10 stereotypically 'male' jobs which girls dream of doing are:
1. Police officer
2. Footballer
3. Soldier
4. Firefighter
5. Electrician
6. Plumber
7. Astronaut
8. Politician
9. Racing driver
10. Pilot
Tagged in Women's Issues