Tag Archives: champions for fire service women

The key difference between mentors and sponsors is that mentors are “one-way streets”, giving their chosen mentee a gift of wisdom, time, and advice. Sponsorship requires reciprocity and commitment; sponsors serve as champions.

I applaud that BC, whomever he or she may be, because they are a fire service champion. And champions are what our younger firefighters need if we're going to maximize our use of their thoughts, ideas, and talents to keep moving the fire service forward in the 21st century.

Male firefighters—for the most part—never think twice about seeking such positions, especially promotions, before they’re “ready.” Female firefighters, like their counterparts in most other professions, don’t actively seek promotions and the like until they feel they are “ready.” For the most part this is because of the male-centric aspect of our fire service culture that requires that a female firefighter has to work twice as hard and be twice as good as their male counterpart to “prove” themselves as being “worthy” of promotion.