Women in uniform acknowledged
The Women in Uniform in Community Safety Legacy Project was launched to empower women officers, firefighters and DEMS officers through career progression and education.
City of Ekurhuleni city manager Dr Imogen Mashazi honoured female metro police officers and emergency personnel at an award ceremony on August 31 to appreciate and encourage them to keep doing the amazing work they are doing.
The Women in Uniform in Community Safety Legacy Project was launched to empower female officers, firefighters and DEMS officers through career progression and education.
To date, more than 700 women have benefited from the project through promotion, recruitment and furthering their studies.
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These included:
EMPD
• A total of 47 female officers were promoted across various positions and levels.
• A total of 42 female officers completed their studies, obtaining MBAs, bachelor degrees and higher certificates.
• Eighteen female officers now form part of the 66 senior management of the EMPD.
• Women now comprise 41% of the EMPD staff complement.
• Four hundred women were employed as traffic wardens.
DEMS
Twenty women were promoted: one divisional head, 12 shift managers, one regional manager, three firefighters recruited from the reserve force, one disaster management specialist and two project administrators.
• A total of 35 women were appointed since 2016, including two divisional heads, 12 call centre operators and 12 shift managers.
• Fifty percent representation of women in the divisional head category.
• Seventy-two women completed their studies, obtaining MBAs, honours, degrees and higher certificates – while 29 are still completing their studies.
• A total of 1 411 female staff in the department constitutes 34% of the total staff complement. In the disaster division, there are 107 women compared to 61 men.
“Over the years, we have recruited more females in these historically male-dominated departments. Now, we have a fair representation of women in these departments and some hold senior positions, which was once a taboo,” Mashazi said.
“Not only did we recruit more women, but we encouraged them to study further, and I am excited to see most of them now graduating with master’s degrees.”
Turning to gender-based violence, Mashazi encouraged women to speak out against abuse. She encouraged them to be strong enough to say no to any form of abuse.
“We must not persevere and endure abuse at the hands of the ones we love with the hope that it will one day get better. This never ends well, and we have seen many women lose their lives at the hands of those they love,” the city manager said.
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