Fighting FIRE with FIRE poster

fighting FIRE with FIRE
1977 New York City opens the FIRE fighter test to women for the first time
410 women take the written exam—389 pass
Media FANS THE FLAMES of sexism—predicting women will do
poorly on the physical agility portion of the exam
A SCORCHING ATTACK on women’s rights begins
1978 88 women take the physical agility exam
—none pass
ANGER SMOULDERS
1979 Applicant Brenda Berkman INFLAMED
—files a civil rights complaint in Federal
District Court charging that the physical exam
is discriminatory & doesn’t test job-related skills
1980 Case certified as a class action on behalf of all women
who were BURNT by the gender bias of the FDNY
1982 District Court rules—PUT OUT THE FIRES of sexual discrimination
—orders FDNY to develop a nondiscriminatory exam
In a BLAZE OF GLORY 42 women enter the FDNY FIRE Academy
117 years of male domination EXTINGUISHED
SPARKS FLY—Berkman receives
hate mail & death threats
Egos are SINGED—a masculine myth is DYING OUT
The first 10 women graduate & join 10,000 men in FIRE houses
Accusations of hostility & sexual harassment FLARE UP—a BACKDRAFT begins
FDNY STRIKES back—5 women are FIRED—several more resign
FDNY introduces new physical agility exam—scoring system changed from pass-fail to rank-ordered
1983 Berkman & Zaida Gonzalez—2 of the most
INFLAMMATORY women are re-evaluated
—then FIRED
—ostensibly for poor performance
District Court finds extraordinary evidence of intentional
discrimination—orders women reinstated
Using rank-ordered scoring FDNYwill hire 4,000 men
over the next 4 years—but no women
Agility test still a SMOKE SCREEN for sexual discrimination
1987 Second Circuit Court of Appeals upholds the
“rank-ordered” exam—thus ADDING FUEL TO THE FIRE
1998 Today there are 38 women working for the FDNY
The need to IGNITE public awareness about
women’s issues & legal rights continues!
Note: This is not an image of Brenda Berkman
1984 Berkman & Gonzalez are re-evaluated again
—they SIZZLE—become tenured FIRE fighters