‘Alpha’ white male paramedics favoured at Ambulance Victoria, report finds

Harmful gender stereotypes that elite paramedics at Ambulance Victoria should be “white, male ... confident, stoic and are the family breadwinner” are preventing women from being accepted at senior levels in the organisation.

The second volume of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission’s inquiry into the emergency service’s culture found this stereotype resulted in discrimination against women and men who don’t fit it.

“[This stereotype] was seen as particularly relevant to MICA [Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance] and Air Ambulance paramedics, which are elite, male-dominated cohorts within the organisation,” the commission found.

“We heard that across Ambulance Victoria and in the MICA sub-group particularly, these paramedics are considered to be clinically superior and that ‘macho’ or ‘alpha male’ personalities are common.”

The commission was told employees who fit “the rigid paramedic stereotypes (for example, men)” were more likely than those who did not – “for example, women and people from diverse backgrounds” – to be considered suitable for opportunities.

It also found discrimination infiltrated internal promotions because there was a requirement within the organisation that employees had to get a personal endorsement from their managers before they applied for a higher position.

“Manager endorsement as a prerequisite for employees to access multiple progression and promotion opportunities has facilitated subjective and biased decision-making,” it said.

Commissioner Ro Allen was asked by Ambulance Victoria chair Ken Lay to investigate the culture after The Age spoke with 40 paramedics in 2020 who testified to experiencing these issues in their workplace.

Rasa Piggott, the first Ambulance Victoria paramedic to speak publicly about entrenched harassment and sex discrimination at the service, said the report reflected the culture accurately.

“Three years ago, I was told by a manager that if I were a six-foot-tall, white male with blond hair, my professional perspectives would be heard and I would not be facing the same workplace challenges regarding career opportunity,” she said.

The report noted that despite a big increase in female employees since 2016, men dominated leadership roles.

Men hold between 60.3 per cent and 69.5 per cent of managerial roles in operations support, as team managers, senior team managers and senior managers and also dominate specialist clinical roles.

The commission’s first report, released in late 2021, found 12 employees had reported rape or attempted rape or sexual assault at work, after which two men were referred to Victoria Police for alleged sexual offences against colleagues. It found that 348 people said they were still experiencing unlawful conduct when surveyed by the commission.

More than one in five employees said they “do not feel safe at all at work”; more than half (52.4 per cent) said they had been bullied; nearly half (47 per cent) said they had experienced discrimination; and 33 people reported pressure for sex or requests for sex acts at work. The commission made 24 recommendations for change.

Stereotypes that remain in Ambulance Victoria culture include that to work in Air Ambulance or MICA, paramedics are “macho” and “alpha” white men.Credit: Paul Rovere

On Tuesday, The Age confirmed the organisation’s director of people and culture, Rebecca Hodges, had resigned. Ambulance Employees Australia Victoria secretary Brett Adie wrote to Mr Lay on Friday criticising Ms Hodges’ team. On Thursday, acting CEO Libby Murphy said this was not related to the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission report.

In the letter seen by The Age, the union claimed Ms Hodges’ department had failed to identify and resolve fundamental issues relating to the organisation’s “harmful culture”.

“The [Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission] review details an [Ambulance Victoria] culture that has contributed to the establishment and maintenance of the ‘boys’ club’,” the letter said, and integral to the preservation of that culture were allegations of recruitment based on “personal preferences” rather than merit.

Victorian Ambulance Union secretary Danny Hill said on Wednesday the union was receiving fresh sexual harassment complaints from Ambulance Victoria staff, regarding events at work that happened after the commission’s first report. Ms Murphy has said she was aware of these.

The union said it was also receiving complaints from members about past workplace incidents that were not adequately addressed by their employer.

The new report noted staff who wanted flexible work agreements faced barriers getting promoted because shift adjustments were frowned upon by managers. It also found some breastfeeding mothers said they were discriminated against for wanting flexibility to allow them to keep feeding.

The report acknowledged that change was under way at the service and that stereotypes were starting to wane, though still existed.

It noted some improvements and suggested 19 more strategies to further support equality of opportunity, promotion and pay, and fairer prospects for those from diverse backgrounds.

Ambulance Victoria CEO Tony Walker says the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission has “nailed” its assessment of the service’s culture.Credit: Paul Jeffers

Ambulance Victoria chief executive Tony Walker, who is currently on leave, said the commission had “nailed” its assessment of cultural stereotypes.

“The reality is Ambulance Victoria has been built for people like me, it is a historically male-dominated organisation where people, through privilege, often have partners at home caring for kids, and you work full time. That’s not the world you live in today,” he said.

“As we’ve tried to address equality over time, we’ve bolted on equal opportunity [measures] rather than stepping back and saying, ‘we need to design a whole new ambulance service’.”

Mr Walker said a case study in the new report based on how BHP addressed rostering was good example for the organisation to follow.

“[It] shows us there are ways of doing this; we don’t need to preserve the past and add to it, we need to step back and design a new system. We shouldn’t think paternally about what the workplace should look like,” Mr Walker said.

Commissioner Ro Allen said it had been “distressing for us and everyone in Ambulance Victoria that ... there hasn’t been a silver bullet” to solve inequality issues, but change was possible.

The commissioner was pleased to see the organisation intended to remove provisions requiring manager endorsement for staff to apply for promotional opportunities.

“And I can see some great female appointments to more senior levels, but you can’t expect them to turn everything around overnight,” Commissioner Allen said.

At a press conference on Thursday, Commissioner Allen said: “What needs to happen now is that Ambulance Victoria needs to develop a robust complaint system where individuals feel heard, and that’s where the accountability should happen.”

Since the first report, former commissioner Kristen Hilton joined Ambulance Victoria as a specialist board adviser and the commission’s director of policy and research, Simone Cusack, was seconded to the agency to oversee equality and workplace reform.

Former Victoria Police assistant commissioner Libby Murphy was appointed as Ambulance Victoria’s chief operations officer in August 2021.

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