New Firefighter Class Surprisingly Undiverse

Article: The LAFD (LA Fire Dept) has made promises to diversify its firefighters. Yet a news report today shows that the incoming class is nearly all male and mostly white. Of the 70 firefighters who will begin training on Monday, there is only 1 woman. 23% are Latino, 11% are Asian-American and 6% are African-American. In contrast, the city of LA is 29% white, 49% Latino, 11% Asian, and 10% black. The city wants to see the fire department reflect the ethnic makeup of the city.

Discussion:

• Why does it matter if a government agency is "diverse"?
• Why does the Fire Department tend to be mostly male and white? (It is an old boys family club, with many firefighters coming from firefighter families, where all the males in their families have been firefighters going back generations)
• What are characteristics you need to be a good firefighter? Why would this make it challenging for some women? 
• To be a firefighter, you also have to pass a written exam. This has been a prohibitive bar for some ethnicities. Why is it necessary to pass a test to be a firefighter? What do you think is on the test?