Numerous female firefighters have recently alleged a sexist culture inside the FDNY, drawing attention to an ongoing reported issue in the department as its first female leader stepped down this week after serving less than two years in the position.
The country’s largest fire department has faced allegations regarding discriminatory practices for decades, including instances of stark racism. At a city council hearing last month, several women discussed how the lack of racial and gender diversity affects their interactions in the field, as well as inside the firehouse where they say the scarcity of women affords them little authority, bringing a fear of retaliation for speaking out.
These reports of discrimination in the department may be especially pertinent as former FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh stepped down from her position on Wednesday. Kavanagh, whom Mayor Eric Adams appointed as fire commissioner in October 2022, was the first woman to lead the FDNY.
In an essay on Medium last month, Kavanagh attributed her decision to wanting to spend more time with family and friends. While she did not reference discrimination or say the choice had to do with the department’s male-dominated culture, her exit has drawn attention to gender gaps in the FDNY as well as long-standing complaints about sexism and harassment.
Before she decided to step down, Kavanagh’s tenure received backlash after she demoted a group of male fire chiefs. She did not provide a reason for the demotions, yet an aide told The New York Times that she didn’t want to play the “same old game.”
During last month’s city council hearing, Regina Wilson, a 25-year FDNY veteran, described joining the FDNY as a “culture shock,” recalling hearing lewd and derogatory remarks and having a drill instructor single her out to do push-ups, Gothamist reported. Most prominently, she highlighted a struggle to feel she could be herself in a workplace predominantly made up of white men.
“It is a stain on this department for so many years,” Wilson said, “that they have not been true to making this department really reflect the citizens that it serves.”
Sarinya Srisakul, a 19-year veteran who said she was the first Asian American woman to become a firefighter, told Gothamist that she was screamed at for forgetting to unload the dishwasher and found vegan food she had brought to work thrown out. Once, she said, someone left a message on a board in the firehouse: “Women don’t belong in the job.”
In 2022, Anita Daniel, a Black woman firefighter in Crown Heights, testified before the City Council that she had been harassed after having a miscarriage and slapped on the rear end by an FDNY captain, among other alleged offenses.
“It’s terrifying because you’re by yourself,” said Tyeisha Pugh, a Black woman firefighter who joined in 2016, during the recent City Council town hall. “When people do make complaints, it’s really when they’ve been through a lot.”
According to personnel data collected by the City Council, less than 2% of the FDNY’s roughly 11,000 firefighters are women. Across roughly 250 firehouses and ambulance stations throughout New York City, there is only one woman fire chief.
