We celebrate Women’ History Month in March every year as a reminder of the accomplishments women have caused and created throughout history. Over time the fight for women’s rights have evolved, but even today men have a higher authority than women do. There has never been a female president in the United States, most protagonists in books and movies are male. In some countries women are even encouraged to hide their faces. Let’s take a look at women in EMS.In order to understand how this came about let’s look at history on how EMS pre-hospital care started.
In 1966, The Highway Safety Act requested that states set up regional based EMS and funding for ambulances and their staffing. This led to the establishment of a large variety of EMS systems and EMT training throughout the country.
Women have traditionally taken on roles of caregivers, mainly in the nursing field as well as eldercare. The skills are similar to EMS. There is complete reversal in female involvement in EMS per National Registry; only 34% of EMT’s and 21% of licensed paramedics are women.
The fire based EMS systems where EMS were required to be cross trained as firefighters end up excluding women based on physical reasons. We who believe in EMS based systems must strive for equality among all its members, and never forget that the general public would benefit by having personnel dedicated exclusively as medical providers.
EMS can be a lifelong career for both men and women and not just a stepping stone.
Reference : Feminem women and EMS