This Millennial Female Firefighter Is the Only Woman on Her Crew

Over the past few months wildfires have burned hundreds of thousands of acres in California. Families are losing their homes and everything they've ever owned. Animals are scared. (Shoutout to the LA hometown hero who rescued the baby bunny.) And the Santa Ana winds are making headlines again for blowing embers and flames up and down the coast. 

But when wildfires strike, 25-year-old Bailey McDade, a “granola geek turned badass of the brush fire” hikes toward the flames. "I was a good kid. I loved to play outside," the firefighter says of her youth. "Always barefoot, always running around in the woods. And always playing sports. I feel like that's a huge part of my career choice. It feels like I'm still on a sports team." After studying Wildlife Science at Virginia Tech and serving with AmeriCorps, Bailey followed her love of environmental biology all the way down to Belize and back up to the Yukon studying wildcats. Her continued interest in everything outdoors led to her current role as a wildland firefighter, noting that on her worst day, she “wants to be sitting on a log in the woods somewhere.” 

"I never get to talk to anybody about my job," she tells us when we speak. Which, makes sense considering during fire season Bailey can work up to 160+ hours. "My job can be a lot of different things," she explains. There's no typical "day in the life."

"Some days it's going to the station and waiting for a call, but for large fires, which we get sent to all over the country," she says, "it's typically about 200 hours per assignment, or 14 day stretches." #Hero.  

She eats on the fire lines. Sleeps on the fire lines. "The job is all about being flexible. You wake up, you breakfast and then you get your assignment. I could be on a fire line, or cutting down dead trees and brush. Doing structure protection or putting up sprinkler systems around houses. Or we could be standing right in the flames."

When she’s face-to-face with the flames—close enough to feel the heat on her face and in her lungs—her pants, shirt, and face shroud made with flame-resistant plastic fabric help keep her protected as she stands waste-high in the heart of the fire.  

Contrary to city firefighters, as a wildland firefighter Bailey says she doesn't wear much. "Everything that we use we have to carry on our backs," she explains. She Bailey and her team wear specialized fire gear. "It kind of just looks like cargo pants and a button down shirt. It feels like cloth, but it's a fire-resistant plastic blend." Everything needs to be durable enough to withstand 200 hours, 14 days straight. Part of the reason the gear is different is because she and her team are hiking into the fire. "We can spend a full day hiking," she says. "We sleep in it, we eat in it. We live in it for weeks at a time. Every pound counts when you're hiking straight up a mountain. We don't have the luxury of going back to our trucks very often. We might have to walk ten miles in our gear." 

Which, isn't a bad thing for the self-described "antsy" woman. "I love to be active," she says. "Sometimes with fire we say there's a hurry up and wait mentality. You may not be doing anything that you think is a big deal that day, but it's part of a much bigger operation. You might be digging a trench for 14 days straight and not feeling like you're doing anything, but that might save a community." She says, "My hardest days are when I'm sedentary." 

An environmental biologist turned badass of the brushfire, Bailey is currently the only woman on her crew. "There are other women on other crews, but I'm the only one on mine," she shares. "I can't say that I feel the difference. We all pack the same weight, wear the same gear, and do the same job. I sometimes have to remind myself that women in this field and in general, we don't have to prove anything. These guys are like my brothers. They've been there for me through hard times. Those guys are willing to carry me out of a forest." 

They've even nicknamed her. "The guys on my crew call me Fern Gully, but it's all in good fun." 

"I sometimes have to remind myself that women don't have to prove anything."

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Bailey is willing to make the same sacrifices for her team. "I'm working with a lot of people who are like me. And I'm working with a lot of people who intentionally chose this job. Nobody accidentally becomes a firefighter. We're all in sleeping bags on the ground, sleeping next to each other under the stars. We eat sitting in the dirt. We're there for a very serious job, but sometimes it's really fun to be around other people who also enjoy this lifestyle. 

And as for her solo female status? "Somebody is always going to be able to do more pull-ups than me, or hike faster," she admits. "But I'm also going to be faster and stronger than someone else. At the end of the day we hike into fires together, we fight them together, and we hike out together." 

If you want to help the 200,000+ people in California affected by the wildfires we're listing several ways to help below. 

Ready Ventura County has set up a texting service. Text UWVC to 41444 and 100% of your donation will go directly to those impacted by the fires.

The American Red Cross is looking for volunteers to help evacuees.

The Los Angeles County Animal Care Foundation is accepting donations through its website.

The Humane Society of Ventura County is also accepting donations.

There are a number of verified fundraisers on GoFundMe where you can donate to relief efforts.

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We Need to Talk: Drawing the Line Between 'Casual Office Environment' and Harassment

I was 15 riding in my dad’s red Mercedes sedan. A car I would later inherit and subsequently total because LA drivers don’t know how to handle the rain. It’s a tragically true stereotype.

Less stereotypical was the conversation that occurred that night between D ole D and me-- the first and only “sex” talk I would get from my father, who probably wished that there was a roadmap as trusty as the Thomas Guide in our backseat, for this convo. Not so. Instead of warning me against the wily advances of Thomases or Tylers, my dad meandered around the topic, finally landing on this odd nugget: “I want you to know that women can be predators too.” I was a sophomore at an all-girls school so the advice wasn’t entirely misplaced, but it was still “so random, so weird.” Which is what I groaned before I stared out the window, unable to make eye-contact. Predator. Not a small word. Pretty aggressive now that I think of it. In a way, looking back at it, this was gender equality at kinda sorta work--my dad thinking that women were equally as capable as men of sexual harassment (though statistically, at least in the workplace, this is not true.)

More than 15 years later that conversation is only now starting to make sense.

In 2016, of the 6,758 sexual harassment charges filed with the EOC, only 16.6% of those were by males. The data do not differentiate between sexual harassment suits between men and women or those of a same sex nature (i.e. a female superior harassing a female employee). Other studies have found that 1 in 3 women between the ages 18-34 report being sexually harassed at work, but over 70% of those women do not report it.  

Consider the number of female-to-female or male-to-male cases even more under-reported.

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There have been many high-profile cases of male CEOs harassing female workers. Though American Apparel had its unitard ass dragged through the mud thanks to ousted CEO Dov Charney, a former female employee we spoke with said many of the women in executive positions weren’t much better. “When I was at American Apparel,” shared the 30-year-old who works for a new company, “a lot of the leadership was female and all the worst stereotypes about women were evident-cattiness, competitive, emotional-it was so sad to see.”

Derogatory comments about other women’s looks and bodies were common, as was slut-shaming was. “So much shit-talking,” the former AA employee shared. “Non-stop.”

Another source who works in interior design and asked to remain anonymous had this to say: “I personally feel like female superiors do sexually harass juniors, in my profession at least. Just not in the same way as the men. The men are condescending, belittling, and overtly sexual. They hold ‘meetings’ at strip clubs. And they make comments about women in general, if not specifically. The women are territorial.”

She continued, “And women make comments that in my mind--and this has happened personally--would constitute sexual harassment of the slut-shaming variety. Which is a different way of also establishing dominance and superiority. I think women have a really hard time with that. And will until it's a more equal distribution of men and women.”

"Female to female harassment simply reinforces the traditional patriarchal power structure."

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Which brings up a very important point. As women, we are still navigating what it looks like to have women in charge and, what it looks like to have office environments that are almost entirely female. This has been called the golden age for female entrepreneurship. Women are starting businesses at rapid rates. According to the 2016 State of Women-Owned Business Report it is estimated that there are now 11.3 million women-owned businesses in the United States, employing nearly 9 million people. Female leaders are also navigating a double-edged sword of quelling micro-aggression amongst females and harassment, with the the millennial desire to work in more casual environments. For instance, LinkedIn found that 67% of millennials are likely to share personal details including salary, relationships and family issues with co-workers. One-third of millennials think socializing with coworkers will help them move up the ladder. And 28% millennials have texted a manager out of work hours for a non-work related issue. Granted, those texts don’t have to be of a sexual or inappropriate nature, but many of us are confused about what’s OK and what’s not.

And there isn’t much of a precedent set.

Legally, according to Eisenberg & Baum, LLP there's this:

“The first United States Supreme Court decision acknowledging sexual harassment as a legal cause of action under Title VII came in 1986 with the case of Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson. That case presented what would now be seen as a classic example of sexual harassment in which a female employee was coerced into participating in sexual acts by her male boss. Over ten years after the Supreme Court’s decision in Meritor, the Supreme Court considered the question of whether Title VII could apply when the harasser and victim are the same gender. In that case, Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., a male worker on an offshore oil platform complained about the harassing conduct of several male co-workers who allegedly engaged in both verbal and physical sexual conduct with him. The Court noted that Title VII protects both men and women from discrimination based on their sex, and held that sexual harassment by someone of the same gender can be just as illegal as harassment by a member of the opposite sex.”

Just as illegal, but much murkier. Even though it shouldn’t be. Harassment is harassment is harassment. But in these female-first-we-all-champion-each-other times, where do we draw the line between ‘casual and fun’ and harassment?

I’ve worked for horrible male bosses where harassment has been horribly apparent. Those who have thrown trash at my head and told me to pick it up. One who told me he wanted to photo recreate Jesus’ crucifixion with me as the female Jesus. “You kind of look like him,” he told me. Whatever that meant. CLEARLY NOT OK. Bosses who used the word cunt to refer to female clients as casually as a conjunction. When I was pregnant, an employer told me to get married or get rid of the baby because, “I shouldn’t bring a bastard child into this world.” NEVER OK. When it comes to bad female bosses, the behavior hasn’t been as egregious. No female boss ever asked to tie me naked to a cross, that’s for sure. To be honest, I’ve had female bosses I definitely didn’t like, but I am way more hesitant to claim harassment. But in the past week numerous stories have come out about former Thinx CEO Miki Agrawal (a woman C&C has interviewed and supported) and more questions are being asked about what really is appropriate at the office.

Part of the problem lies in our overshare culture. Unlike economics, its effects have trickled into the workplace. The workplace is considerably more open, but sexual harassment laws are considerably more rigorous than they were pre-Anita Hill. It has been an uphill battle. In the 1920s women who couldn’t take the inevitable harassment were advised to quit their jobs. The term sexual harassment wasn’t even coined until 1975 when a group of women at Cornell University called it into being. In the early ‘90s, the American public was still in the midst of figuring out what was and was not acceptable. Finally, in 1998 (and the above mentioned case) the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex harassment was also illegal.

We accept this as truth and yet, when it comes to the current office culture (especially for women), we’re still in funky water. Like we know it’s good for us, but still smells weird. Like Bikram. We openly talk about our periods and sex lives. When we swiped right and where they subsequently swiped. We discuss it on our platforms. We champion truth-telling. We applaud bosses who are forthcoming and girls’ girls and encourage open environments. Until we don’t.

These cases are more rare, but they do happen. In January 2013, a sexual harassment lawsuit involving two women was filed by an Armani employee accusing her boss of unwanted sexual advances. In 2014, one of the biggest cases of same sex harassment involving a female Yahoo executive drew national attention. Maria Zhang, a senior engineering director for Yahoo Mobile, was accused by her subordinate Nan Shi, of allegedly pressuring Shi into having oral and cyber-sex in exchange for a “bright future” at Yahoo. There was a 2014 case against a Wells Fargo superior. 

Now, there are some very clear lines in the sand. Touching, for one. Inappropriate comments as well. But there are countless examples of what a female boss might say to a female employee that would be considered harassment if said by a male, but we are generally more lenient with female bosses. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I work at a company of all women and I feel free to speak my mind, almost all of the time. I feel safe. There's the 'every company is different' argument, but that feels like a cop-out and also, hypocritical.  

As disturbing as that is, that’s not the biggest problem. The biggest problem is that every time women abuse their position of power, we undermine the equality we’ve set out to gain. Female to female harassment simply reinforces the traditional patriarchal power structure.

Which, brings me back to my dad, oddly enough. Women can be predators, too. It’s not fun to think about, but that doesn’t make it less true. It may be statistically less likely. It may not happen to 1 in 3, but it’s still happening. And it’s on other women to call it out.

That’s how we support each other. That’s how we get stronger.

Arianna Schioldager is Create & Cultivate's editorial director. 

Have thoughts? Please share in the comments below. We're listening.

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Uncommon Opinion: I Don’t Want to Be the Boss

Personally, I blame Bruce Springsteen because no one blames him for anything ever, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that we have romanticized the idea of the Boss. 

The Boss is in charge. The Boss has flexibility. The Boss takes fancy lunch meetings. The Boss also carries the weight of the company, everyone’s salaries, deals with HR, paychecks, keeps the company afloat, and more. 

Head honch-no thank you. 

Do you think Grace Coddington wanted to be Anna Wintour? Maybe somewhere along the 25 years she worked for Vogue she thought, ‘I’d like to be Editor-in-Chief,’ shortly thereafter realizing, “Oh no, I’d much rather smile!” 

That doesn’t mean she wasn’t aspirational and kick-ass at her job. "Do I dream very much? Do I dream predominantly about fashion?” she asked herself in the 2009 documentary The September Issue. “No,” she answered, “I dream much more about cats.”

I can’t help but feel the same.  I have dreams and hopes for myself, but running a company or making Forbes 30 Under 30 aren’t them. Jokes on them! I'm over 30. (Cats have nothing to do with my dreams either.) But why does that feel so uncomfortable to say out loud? As if it makes me less powerful, less feminist, less of the woman I should aspire to be. We hold professional advancement in higher regard than performing well in our position. 

Running the show means that if shit hits the fan, it’s your fan and you’re cleaning it. Yes, it also means there is the potential for a high payout. The accolades are more high profile. The dinner party invites might be better and the dream wardrobe more of a reality, but the pretty version of jet-set-dinner-party-squad-goals boss that we see projected through the Valencia filter on IG isn’t real life. Everyone knows that, and yet we are still conditioned to think that "boss" means success.

Well, CE-no thank you. Here are 5 reasons why.

IT’S RESTRICTIVE. 

TO me, the idea of being the boss seems like being the Queen or King; neither are roles I’ve ever wanted to play. There are rules, restrictions, public personas— things you can and cannot say, etiquette and financial stressors. Sure, as Queen you don’t need a license to drive (or in the case of Queen Elizabeth to ill) but you are in charge of all your subjects. Or in the case of being the boss, your employees. (Fun fact: Queen E owns all of the swans in the Thames River.) 

When you are the boss there are no job requirements. Your job is everything. When you own the company you don’t get a raise because you performed well; most often that money is pumped back into the company to show potential investors that you believe in your idea. 

BEING THE BOSS OFTEN MEANS $$. BUT MONEY CAN’T BUY HAPPINESS. 

Let’s hit refresh on that always cited Princeton University study published in 2010 that found that happiness rises as income rises up until you hit $75,000 a year. At that dollar point, happiness ceases to improve as you earn more. 

The study actually found the opposite to be true. Those who are happiest are proven to be more productive which, leads to better pay. 

Not all founders or bosses are unhappy, but the stakes are higher, so is the pressure, and as we’ve heard from Create & Cultivate panelists, “Founder depression is real.” 

YOU HAVE LESS JOB MOBILITY.

When you are unhappy or unfulfilled by your job or career path, you can change it. (This should not be taken as advice to monkey around from one career branch to another.) But with less responsibly comes more mobility. When you are in charge, or own your own company, that company has custody over you. You can’t simply pick up and leave— there are people who rely on you after all. No pressure.

Moreover, shuttering your own company and going to work for someone else is viewed as a set-back. Even if it's not true, people view it as a failure. Having to walk away from a company you created is not a position I want to be in. 

Being crucified on the cover of Variety as a failure? Seems unpleasant as well. Multi-million dollar payout and all (see point 2). 

IF YOU DO WHAT YOU LOVE... 

You’ll never work a day in your life. So the saying goes. This is one of those really tired, unrealistic job-related aphorisms that f’s with people’s heads. Even if you love what you do, you will not like it all the time. In fact, you might hate it some days. TOTALLY OK TOO. 

As employees we tend to give ourselves more leniency when it comes to the days we don’t like our jobs. When you own the company, or when you’re the boss, there is more pressure to believe in and love the work. 

It’s simply not possible to love it all the time. As a founder you have to be obsessed with your company to make it work, but obsessions come in waves. Some days are easier to ride out than others.

When you're the boss it’s very stressful and scary on the days when you’re simply not feeling it. 

THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH NOT BEING THE BOSS. 

So you don’t want to be the boss? GREAT! Let's high-five each other. There are currently almost 10 million boss hashtags on IG. 

You can be a high-performer without being in the highest position. Success doesn’t mean car or corner office or cabana. You can create an amazing career without striking out on your own. Being someone's right hand doesn't mean you've chopped yours off. 

[If you do want to be the boss: read this.] 

Success means going home and having the ability to dream about cats. It means that you are satisfied with the decisions you’ve made for your career. For many people that means acknowledging that you don’t want to own a company or be in charge.

Even it if means you don’t own all the swans, you’ve still got the wings to fly. 

Arianna Schioldager is the Editorial Director of Create & Cultivate, and therefore, not the boss. Find her on Instagram: @ariannawrotethis and on this site she never updates www.ariannawrotethis.com

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