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Success in the Fire Service – a matter of perception |
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Rebecca Bryant looks at recent research in order to rigorously examine some of the issues currently faced by women in the Fire and Rescue Service
ARE THE PERCEPTIONS OF THE managerial attributes required to work within strategic management a contributing factor in the ‘glass ceiling’ that currently exists for female operational officers within the Fire and Rescue Service? A study has been recently undertaken to research the literature relating to women in management, and to examine the perceptions of female and male managers.
Women in management have been subject to a number of studies over the past 30 years, which have attempted to determine a difference in leadership and management style between genders. Although some women have progressed into management tiers within private and public organisations, inequalities still exist within some occupations (EOC 2004). Wajcman (1998 p1) states: ‘As we approach the end of the 20th century, men continue to monopolise the elite levels of corporate power in almost all regions of the world. While the legitimacy of patriarchy has been eroded, it is far from being rendered obsolete. The material and institutional structures of patriarchy are still largely intact’.
The Sex Discrimination Act 1976 was introduced to prevent the unfair treatment of women at work and 45 years before that, women won the right to vote. McDonald (2004 p.307) states: ‘By 1911 women constituted 19 per cent of employers and proprietors and 20 per cent of administrators and higher professionals’. In 2005 the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) stated it would take 40 years for women to gain the same managerial sway within the FTSE 100 companies as men with only 11 per cent of FTSE directors being female (The Independent March 8 2005). The EOC in 2004 stated that the occupations of the military and police have further inequalities with women occupying one per cent of senior positions in the armed services and seven per cent in the police force. The statistics relating to the percentage of female managers within the Fire and Rescue Service show that there are 83 female uniformed operational managers nationally equating to 0.8 per cent of officers across all of the fire services in England and Wales.
Women in Management Research Glass ceilings exist within organisations and those considered traditionally uniformed are no different to those within the private sector (Boyce 2003; Grube-Farrell 2002). The ‘glass ceiling’ can be defined as the barrier that exists within an organisation which results in low numbers of women penetrating managerial layers. These barriers include organisational culture, gender stereotypes and preconceived roles for the different sexes (Powell and Graves 2003; Wajcman 1998; Davidson and Burke 1994).
When examining traditional uniformed occupations, a number of factors contribute to these barriers, ranging from the societal view of women to the psychological limits of the gender. A large amount of research has been carried out on the gendering of leadership, and managerial traits and the view that the sexes manage differently is a theme that has received much attention (Stanford et al 1995; Vinnicombe and Singh 2002). Within these occupations women have to consider how their management style fits with the successful leaders established within the organisation. This is because there are very few female role models who have influenced organisational perceptions on what makes a successful manager. Vinnicombe and Singh (2002) suggest that although the glass ceiling may well be moving up in some organisations, it is still an influencing factor on the perceptions of women as they are exposed to male role models and therefore feel the need to fit to the organisations’ standard. Considering the perceptions of those individuals operating within strategic management is also vital, as these people have direct influence on those below them (Vinnicombe and Singh 2002).
For an organisation to be successful it needs quality leadership at all levels including strategic management. Although for women to progress within an occupation considered masculine in nature the perception it may be that they have to conform to the stereotype displayed by the majority (Wood 2003). There is a large amount of research indicating men and women in managerial positions do perceive things differently (Baack et al 1993; Witt and Nye 1992; Kisch and Ryan 1991 all cited in Wood 2003) and this may be explained by Hind and Baruch (1997 p.284) who state that: ‘Women’s experiences of the inequalities of the workplace have led to differing perceptions of career development and opportunities, and to lower expectations’. The study of leadership has been ongoing with a variety of theories and models determining the attributes considered important for an individual to be successful inrole. However the overarching view of a leader is an individual who can influence others to achieve success for the organisation (Bass 1985; Archbold 2004). In the changing and dynamic world of business and the role of the strategic manager, views of the skills required are evolving – skills which now include character and not just technique (Wood and Vilkinas 2005).
The British Fire Service fits the definition of a monolithic organisation given by Cox (1993) because it is predominately occupied by white males. When the number of female officers are compared to male officers through the differing ranks it is clear in percentage terms that all of the women serving in a uniformed capacity would be considered a token under Kanter’s (1977) definition. In relation to the number of women that have progressed through the rank structure into a position considered strategic, it is clear that although women have served in the Fire and Rescue Service since 1982 none have progressed to the top tier of management who joined the Service as a firefighter.
The literature has indicated a difference between the perceptions of male and female managers in relation to the attributes required to work within strategic management. The study focused on the perceptions of individuals as a reason behind the limited number of uniformed women within strategic management roles in the Fire Service. The Fire Service in general provides an ideal opportunity to examine these proposed differences between men and women, in a male-dominated uniformed occupation that has yet to see a woman from an operational uniformed position becoming Chief Fire Officer. Although a number of pieces of research have been conducted previously within the Fire Service, these have focussed on the reasons behind the lack of women entering the Service rather than their lack of progression (Siann 2000; Shuttleworth 2000; Wood 1998; Richards 1996).
Research Design
This research was centred around three key questions:
RQ1 – Will female and male supervisory/middle managers have different perceptions as to the attributes required to gain promotion to strategic management levels? RQ2 – Will female and male supervisory/middle managers have different perceptions of the importance placed by strategic management on specific managerial attributes? RQ3 – Will male supervisory/middle managers have similar views to male strategic managers as to the managerial attributes required to operate within a strategic managerial role?
In order to answer these questions a multistrategy approach was adopted using both quantitative and qualitative methods consisting of a self-administered questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with a number of strategic managers within four fire services. The quantitative questionnaire experienced a 46 per cent response rate which was split evenly between both the genders and managerial tiers participating. A statistical analysis was then completed on the results using univariate and bivariate tests as well as statistical examinations to ensure validity and reliability of the quantitative data. To examine the statistical significance of the quantitative data, differing analysis tools were utilised which included t-tests for independent samples in a group format, and a number of non-parametric tests.
The qualitative data from the interviews and the questionnaire were compiled into concept cards which are a means of identifying similar themes between the interviews and allows for concepts/themes to be developed (Prasad 1993). By using concept cards, similarities within individual answers can be compared along with the value of the concept determined by the frequency of its occurrence.
Findings and Results
RQ1 – Will female and male supervisory/middle managers have different perceptions as to the attributes required to gain promotion to strategic management levels?
The statistical analysis of the 40 managerial attributes presented to participants completing the questionnaire showed that only two managerial traits demonstrated statistical significance, being the attributes of strategic thinking and the inclusion of subordinates in the decision-making process. Female supervisory/middle managers perceived the attribute of strategic thinking as more important than in the view of their male counterparts, whereas the opposite was illustrated in the attribute of including subordinates in decision-making.
In conclusion, the findings relating to research question one indicate that female and male supervisory/middle managers have similar perceptions as to the managerial attributes required to gain promotion to strategic management.
RQ2 – Will female and male supervisory/middle managers have different perceptions of the importance placed by strategic management on specific managerial attributes?
The statistical analysis relating to this question showed that in ten per cent of the managerial attributes there was statistical significance between the perceptions of female and male managers. The attributes where statistical significance was highlighted were empathy, emotional stability, creative thinking and decision-making based on appropriate and adequate information. The statistics demonstrate that in the view of the female respondents strategic managers do not place importance on the managerial attributes of empathy, emotional stability or creative thinking. However in the case of decisionmaking based on appropriate and adequate information female respondents rated this as more important in the view of strategic managers that their male counterparts. When examining the trait of empathy, figure 1 illustrates graphically the differences in the perceptions of female and male managers. When examining figure 1 it can be seen that female managers do perceive male strategic managers as placing no importance on empathy as an attribute required at their level. This links closely with the opinions of Eichenbaum and Orbach (1982) who proposed that women utilise more emotional skill in managing the workforce than their male counterparts.
In conclusion, the findings relating to research question two indicate that female and male supervisory/middle managers have differing perceptions as to the importance placed upon specific managerial attributes by strategic managers.
RQ3 – Will male supervisory/middle managers have similar views to male strategic managers as to the managerial attributes required to operate within a strategic managerial role?
When analysing the data from the male managers involved in this research statistical significance was determined in over 50 per cent of the managerial trait categories utilised.
Those categories were delegation skills, coaching and developing, personal organisation, communication and problem analysis/decision-making. The levels of statistical significance do indicate a difference between the managerial tiers in relation to these managerial attribute categories and that in fact the differences did not appear by chance alone. Table 1 illustrates the mean scores determined across the managerial categories utilised, and included within the table are the results from the female managers involved. In conclusion, the findings relating to research question three indicate that male supervisory/middle managers and strategic managers have different perceptions as to the managerial attributes required to operate within a strategic management role.
Barriers to Women’s Progression
During this research a number of barriers to the progression of women within the Fire Service were also determined which included a lack of educational qualifications, a lack of commitment, a lack of confidence and a lack of motivation. Statistical analysis conducted on these perceived barriers determined that statistical significance in terms of the difference in views of female and male managers was present in the barriers of prejudice, lack of females within the Service, the existence of an ‘old boys’ network’ and differences in leadership styles. The lack of numbers as a barrier exhibited the greatest statistical significance and figure 2 graphically illustrates the differences between the female and male respondents. In terms of the perceived effect the existence of an old boys club has on the progression of women within the Service, figure 3 illustrates the differences in perceptions between the participants.
Conclusions and Recommendations
The research has identified some differences between the perceptions of female and male managers throughout the Fire Service. However it has also highlighted some similarities in perceptions. It is clear however that a glass ceiling does exist within the Fire Service and that the female managers who currently work within the occupation fit the category of tokens within the workforce. The literature has also shown that the theory of management moves forward, and attributes once seen as vital for a manager to display which primarily fitted the societal view of the traits a man displays, are now attributes and traits originally viewed as female in nature. There are also a number of other areas of research that could be conducted into the Fire Service which include the impact of a monolithic organisation on female managers’ management style and the use of emotional intelligence by the managers within the Fire Service. Although a number of barriers to the progression of women have been identified some solutions have also emerged which include the use of formal mentoring schemes, the use of the national media for recruiting campaigns and the effective use of multi-tier entry schemes.
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