Hidden depths: seeking inspiration from within

摘要

There is no one simple answer for a service which has largely failed to reflect the community it serves, or give a straightforward roadmap for a route to the top - enticing as direct entry may sound - as we discover in this issue. Our correspondents ask the difficult questions in special reports: 'Diversity and inclusion 2021: The experience of black, Asian and ethnic minority personnel in the Fire Service' (see pg 23) and 'Breaking the Fire Service glass ceiling: Getting women to the top' (see pg 27), whilst the Arctic Fire Angels discuss their quest to empower women and raise mental health awareness (see pg 71). If the latter sounds like the birth of a Marvel or DC-style fire franchise then it would be no bad thing: role models are the inspiration to break glass ceilings and shatter white-male-only-machismo-skewered myths.