Women's brains make them worse firefighters than men, according to one of Scotland's most senior fire chiefs.

In a study on equal opportunities, Her Majesty's Inspector of Fire Services for Scotland, Neil Morrison, said that firefighting requires "the spatial skills of males rather than the verbal skills of females."

The research behind this controversial conclusion suggests that men are better at "solving manipulative and mathematical tasks - for example, setting ladders or positioning vehicles." The report goes on to say that women should be given support roles such as fire investigation or control room duties.

Do women make less capable firefighters?

The Scottish Office say that there are not enough women recruited as firefighters, despite their best efforts.

Some, such as Equal Opportunities Officer for the Fire Brigades Union, Linda Shanahan, are arguing that this kind of erroneous reasoning will not help the situation at all.

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Are tough jobs just for men?

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