The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) commissioned and part-funded this research. DELWP established a reference group which met twice during this research project. As stated in the brief, the scope of the research is ‘to understand what (if any) actual and perceived barriers exist for women to take on fire and emergency management leadership roles’ within DELWP and the Networked Emergency Organisations (NEO). NEO agencies are Parks Victoria, Melbourne Water and VicForests. As noted in the brief, increasing the proportion of women in fire leadership roles allows a bigger pool of potential employees, broadens diversity, and increases the capacity of this sector.