Brenda Berkman

Who is Brenda Berkman?

Brenda Berkman is a pioneering female firefighter. She filed the lawsuit that resulted in the first women being hired by the New York City Fire Department in 1982. In 1977 the FDNY used a physical test that all the women applying to be firefighters failed, including Berkman; she sued on the grounds of gender discrimination and won, and a new test was created in which standards were lowered so she and 40 other women passed. She joined the FDNY in 1982. The struggle of women to join the FDNY, and Berkman's part in it, was featured in a 2006 PBS documentary called Taking The Heat. Berkman was one of the founders of the United Women Firefighters, an organization for women in the FDNY, and was its president from 1982 until 1986. Her awards include: the Susan B. Anthony Award from the National Organization for Women, a Revson Fellowship on the Future of the City of New York, from Columbia University, the Distinguished Alumni Award from St. Olaf College, and the Women of Courage Award from the National Organization for Women.