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Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fire and Emergency) is committed to developing a diverse and inclusive work force. While wāhine (women) have played an active role serving in urban and rural fire services since the 1940s, they remain significantly under-represented throughout Fire and Emergency, especially in leadership positions. Responding to an identified gap in knowledge about career experiences and expectations of the organisation's wāhine firefighters, Fire and Emergency commissioned a mixed-methods study. The primary source of data for the study was a series of interviews with 29 wāhine firefighters.1 This was supplemented with relevant administrative data to provide background and context to the interview material. The overall aim of this research project was to foster understanding of wāhine firefighters' experiences in relation to barriers and enablers of their career development and progression, and thereby provide an important input to the changes required to make positive progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]