CASE STUDY .

In British Columbia, the competition for firefighting jobs is fierce, with more than 1,600 people applying for about 60 jobs. At one time, the provincial Ministry of Forests required all job applicants to pass this physical fitness test:

-lift a 23-kilogram bar in an upright rowing motion 18 times

-carry pumps and hoses, weighing as much as 50 kilograms, over a timed distance

-perform a shuttle run, which involves darting back and forth at an increasingly faster pace between cones situated 20 metres apart

The B.C. Government and Service Employees Union argued that the average man, with training, could easily pass the test, whereas the average woman, even with training, could not. Only 35 percent of women who applied for the firefighters job passed the test; about 70 percent of the men did.

The University of Victoria scientists who designed the tests argued that most women could reach the standard, although they would have to work harder than most men to do so. Female firefighters said they had to train year-round to pass the test, but they took this as a personal responsibility and as the cost of qualifying for the job. Their safety, as well as that of their colleagues and the public, depends on their strength and endurance. The B.C. Ministry of Forests spokeswoman suggested that lowering the standards would be a mistake: Already male firefighters are asking if blazes will be designated as guy fires and girl fires. We want the fittest people.

QUESTIONS :

Did the standards result in safer and more effective firefighting crews, or were they inadvertently keeping women out of a traditionally male job?

Was this a BFOQ? The ministry was challenged on the basis of sex discrimination. What did the Supreme Court rule, and what was its reasoning?

Female applicants had the chance to train and try the test at B.C. university campuses. Was this special preparation discriminatory?

Did the changes made fix the underlying problems? Explain.