Here at South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue we actively try to break the stereotypical view of a firefighter and want to offer you a career at South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue, where everyone is welcomed.
As an employer this means:
- We work to promote equality in relation to all protected characteristics in line with the Equality Act 2010 and provide training to all staff on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
- We run positive action initiatives, such as ‘Have a Go Days’ and ‘Female Fitness’ sessions – which provide an insight to underrepresented groups into what it takes to become a firefighter
- We are a Disability Confident Employer, we encourage applications from people with a disability and offer reasonable adjustments
- We are committed to becoming an anti-racist organisation by actioning the Race Equality Commission report
- We run and attend a diverse range of events throughout the EDI Calendar, including Black History Month, Pride, Neurodiversity Celebration Week, International Women’s and Men’s Day, as well as celebrating a range of faith & belief events throughout the year
- We develop strong relationships with a variety of South Yorkshire community groups, to ensure we are providing the correct support to our diverse region
- We value the power of neurodiversity, having recently published our Neurodiversity Handbook for all staff and gaining site-wide access to Read & Write Gold
Our staff are able to create change and provide support through our five staff groups:
- Disability, Carers and Neurodiversity Staff Group
- Faith and Belief Staff Group
- LGBT Staff Group
- Race Staff Network
- Women’s Staff Group
We are also very proud to have run a number of successful and popular campaigns in recent years, celebrating the diversity of our organisation:
- Family – Black History Month
- Women of Fire – International Women’s Day
- Black History Month celebration event
- Fires don’t discriminate, neither do we
- Anyone can be anything
- Firefighter dads
If you would like to find out more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, contact Lesley Hayhurst (People Partner for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) LHayhurst@syfire.gov.uk