Berkman, Brenda

Captain, New York City Fire Department.

From the description of Reminiscences of Brenda Berkman : oral history, 2005. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 269258167

The New York City Fire Department (NYCFD, also known as the FDNY by the department) began accepting applications from women for the position of firefighter in 1977, but did not hire any women until after Brenda Berkman successfully sued the City of New York on behalf of herself and other women who had passed the written examination. Berkman, a law student at New York University at the time of her application, sued the City under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, questioning the validity of the physical exam. In 1982, Judge Charles Sifton ruled that the City had indeed discriminated against women through its physical exam, known as the 3040 exam, which included tests that were biased against women and unrelated to a firefighter's future performance on the job. The suit and Sifton's ruling sparked intense controversy in the Fire Department and the media. Litigation related to this original ruling continued until 1988.

The United Women Firefighters (UWF) was founded in 1982 by the first group of New York City women firefighters, in order to deal with the occupational and sexual discrimination, and the sexual harassment, encountered in the Department. Modeled on groups like the Vulcan Society (representing African-American firefighters), the UWF assists women firefighters who have encountered a wide range of problems on the job, from ill-fitting equipment to unjust probation and sexual assault. They have lobbied for training for all officers and firefighters on issues related to women on the job. Representatives of the organization have developed ties with other women firefighters' organizations, including the national coalition, Women in Fire Service. The United Women Firefighters publishes a monthly newsletter, the Voice Alarm .

Brenda Berkman was born in 1951, and became interested in firefighting as a young girl. When she accepted the Susan B. Anthony Award from the National Organization of Women in 1984, she declared that she had become a feminist at age seven, when she was not allowed to play in boys-only Little League. She earned her B.A. from St. Olaf College in Minnesota, an M.A. in History at Indiana University, a J.D. from New York University Law School, and an M.S. in Fire Protection Management from the City University of New York. At the time of her application to the New York Fire Department she was a law student at New York University.

Berkman is a founding member and former president of the United Women Firefighters (1982-1986) and served as trustee of the Women in Fire Service (1983-1992). She taught at the FDNY fire academy and the United States National Fire Academy. Her many awards and honors include the Susan B. Anthony award from the National Organization for Women (1984), a Revson Fellowship on the Future of the City of New York from Columbia University (1987-1988), the distinguished alumni award from St. Olaf College, and the National Organization for Women's Women of Courage Award (2002). For her support of labor history and labor archives, she was honored by the New York Labor History Association in 2005.

Berkman was a featured participant in the PBS program, "Sex, Power, and the Workplace" (1992) and was the subject of the Off-Broadway play, "Firework" (2002). Her story and that of her fellow women firefighters is the focus of the documentary, "Taking the Heat: The First Women Firefighters of New York City" (2006). She was promoted to Captain in 2002, only the third woman to achieve that rank.

From the guide to the United Women Firefighters Records and Photographs, Bulk, 1979-1993, 1957-2011, (Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive)

Brenda Berkman is a pioneering female firefighter who worked for the FDNY from 1982-2006. She is a founding member and former president of the United Women Firefighters (1982-1986) and served as trustee of the Women in Fire Service (1983-1992). Berkman was born in 1951 and became interested in firefighting as a young girl. She earned her B.A. from St. Olaf College in Minnesota, an M.A. in History at Indiana University, a J.D. from New York University Law School, and an M.S. in Fire Protection Management from the City University of New York. At the time of her application to the New York Fire Department she was a law student at New York University.

Berkman taught at the FDNY fire academy and the United States National Fire Academy. Her many awards and honors include the Susan B. Anthony award from the National Organization for Women (1984), a Revson Fellowship on the Future of the City of New York from Columbia University (1987-1988), the distinguished alumni award from St. Olaf College, and the National Organization for Women's Women of Courage Award (2002). For her support of labor history and labor archives, she was honored by the New York Labor History Association in 2005. In 2006 Berkman retired from firefighting in 2006 and shifted to a career in the arts. In 2008 she began studying printmaking at the Art Students League (New York, NY). Most of her work is in stone lithography (drawing on and printing off a stone) and copperplate etching which has primarily been inspired by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Berkman was a featured participant in the PBS program, "Sex, Power, and the Workplace" (1992) and was the subject of the Off-Broadway play, "Firework" (2002). Her story and that of her fellow women firefighters is the focus of the documentary, "Taking the Heat: The First Women Firefighters of New York City" (2006). She was promoted to Captain in 2002, only the third woman to achieve that rank.

From the guide to the Brenda Berkman Files Regarding September 11, 2001, 2001-2002, (Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive)