FDNY firefighters are overwhelmingly white men. The City Council wants to change that.

Article here. Excerpt:

'New York lawmakers announced new legislation on Monday that would require the FDNY to hire more women and minority firefighters, the latest push to diversify an agency that has been repeatedly sued for discriminating against non-white applicants.

The legislation would require the FDNY to develop and implement a plan by March 1st to ensure firefighters “reflect that of the city’s population as a whole.” Currently, more than three-quarters of firefighters are white men, and less than 1% are women.

The package would also broaden transparency requirements within the department, while mandating the FDNY survey each firehouse to identify facility upgrades needed to achieve a safe environment for a mixed-gender workforce.

The bills follow several other legislative attempts to solve the agency’s diversity problems – a threat not just to equity, but to the “fundamental safety of all New Yorkers,” according to Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.'