Police, FireFighters, Military and Construction..

Women in policing

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_officer

Who we are: Police officers are generally charged with the apprehension of criminals and the prevention and detection of crime, and the maintenance of public order. Police officers may be sworn to an oath, and have the power to arrest people and detain them for a limited time, along with other duties and powers.

*http://www.womenandpolicing.org/publications.asp

The National Center for Women & Policing is the only organization that annually tracks the number of women in policing, including the numbers of sworn, correctional, and civilian women broken down by rank. Read the latest figures for the year 2000, and see if your local police department was one of the agencies surveyed

Updated 2003 Hiring & Retaining More Women: The Advantages to Law Enforcement Agencies
Overview of research providing compelling evidence that increasing the number of female officers improves police response to violence against women and reduces police use of excessive force.

*www.lasd.org

Current Situation: Effective July 10, 2008 LASD has established a temporary female deputy sheriff hiring goal of 20.11%

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* http://www.laalmanac.com/crime/cr73b.htm

LAPD had the Nation’s First Police Woman

In 1909, Los Angeles social worker Alice Stebbins Wells petitioned Mayor George Alexander and the City Council, requesting that an ordinance providing for a Los Angeles Policewoman be adopted. Not only was the measure passed, but on September 12, 1910, Mrs. Wells was appointed as the nation’s first female to be designated a policewoman with arrest powers.

* http://www.joinlapd.com

As A Woman "When I was fifteen I saw a special on police officers. It specifically focused on a female officer, and from that point forward I knew what I would do with my life. There is no doubt that my job is tough. It takes a lot of work. Officers are human too! But, knowing that you are out there everyday, making a difference in people’s lives, is the most rewarding aspect."

Women Firefighters

*http://www.i-women.org/index.php & http://fire.lacounty.gov/

Who we are: Firefighters, often colloquially called firemen, are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations

CURRENT EVENT

Firefighter Awarded 6.2 Millions Dollars

A jury has awarded $6.2 million in compensatory damages to a Los Angeles firefighter who complained she had been harassed on the job because she is female, African-American, and a lesbian.Brenda Lee, a 12-year veteran of the LAFD, filed her suit in 2005. It cited behaviors from supervisors and co-workers such as derogatory comments, her locker being ransacked, being singled out to do exhausting drills no other firefighters were required to do, finding her mouthwash had been mixed with urine, and being retaliated against when she complained of the treatment.

If you were a city firefighter in the 1960's, your job usually consisted mostly of taking care of the fire engines and the station and, when there was a fire, going to it and putting it out. Your protective gear -- probably a canvas or rubber coat, thigh-length boots, and a heavy leather helmet with no eye protection concern for the health and fitness of firefighters was minimal.By the 2000's, almost all of this had changed. Firefighters in most fire departments now take part in public education, fire inspections, and other forms of community outreach.

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Women in Construction

*http://www.nawic.org

Who we are: Women in construction are actively engaged in the various phases of the construction industry.

The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) originally began as Women in Construction of Fort Worth, Texas. It was founded in 1953 by 16 women working in the construction industry. Knowing that women represented only a small fraction of the construction industry, the founders organized NAWIC to create a support network. Women in Construction of Fort Worth was so successful that it gained its national charter in 1955 and became the National Association of Women in Construction.

Women in the Military

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_military_by_country#United_States

Today, women can serve on American combat ships, including in command roles. There is a plan to allow women to serve on submarines.Although Army regulations bar women from infantry assignments, some females are detailed to accompany male infantry units to handle searches of Iraqi women.

The case United States v. Virginia, in which the Supreme Court ordered that the Virginia Military Institute allow women to register as cadets, gave women soldiers a weapon against laws which (quoting J. Ruth Bader Ginsburg) “[deny] to women, simply because they are women, full citizenship stature—equal opportunity to aspire, achieve, participate in and contribute to society.”

In Afghanistan, Monica Lin Brown, was presented the Silver Star for shielding wounded soldiers with her body, and then treating life-threatening injuries.As of November 2008, the U.S. military has only one woman, Ann E. Dunwoody, with the rank of four-star general.