Sixteen kilograms — it's about the weight of a standard suitcase.
But up until 30 years ago, anything heavier was seen as too much for women to lift, and prevented them from a range of professions in Victoria, including becoming an ambulance officer.
Andrea Wyatt unsuccessfully applied to Ambulance Victoria in 1983 after being told just that.
"Basically we are required to work under the Labour and Industry Act 1958. Regulations 132 (b) (iii) limits the weight an adult female is allowed to carry to 16 kilograms," the rejection letter said.
"An Ambulance Officer would be required to lift weights in excess of this continuously. The Equal Opportunities Commission is aware of these provisions and I believe, will, in the future be endeavouring to have them changed."
Three years later a telegram arrived out of the blue asking her to sit an interview.
She went on to become one of the first two women in the state welcomed into the service's male-only ranks in July 1987.
"We were told by the management to expect a little bit of backlash from the guys — they had their own boys' club I think and they weren't particularly happy about females coming into that," she said.
"But in saying that, the males I worked with were nothing but true gentlemen, there might have been a bit going on behind my back, but I ignored that."
She said while her male colleagues were only trying to be considerate, she resisted their attempts to lighten her workload.
"They were wanting to take the heavy landing of any lifts we did, or volunteer to push the stretcher, I said 'no, no I'm here to do equal work'."
Women asked about boyfriends, baby plans
Ms Wyatt laughed when asked whether she had ever had any trouble lifting more than 16kg.
"The thing that surprised me is I wonder what they thought nurses did in hospital, when they had to roll patients and all of that sort of thing, so it was crazy," she said.
Ms Wyatt said it took time for things to change, with one of her female colleagues who joined a few years later still asked whether her boyfriend knew she was applying, and whether she had plans to get pregnant.
"You just can't do that stuff in nowadays … they didn't ask me, maybe I didn't look like the pregnant sort of person, I don't know," she said.
Women paramedics expected to outnumber men
Mel Buckingham started a few months after Ms Wyatt in October 1987, becoming the first ambulance officer in country Victoria.
She said when she started, women had to wear the same uniforms as the men, as well as share toilets and changerooms.
"We were all in together, there was no delineation at all … didn't worry me, didn't care," Ms Buckingham said.
She still works in Ballarat and said an increasing number of women were joining Ambulance Victoria.
"My branch is probably about 95 per cent female," she said.
Ms Buckingham said part of the reason for the rise was many female nurses were choosing to re-train as paramedics.
Currently 43 per cent of the organisation's workforce is made up of women, and Ambulance Victoria's CEO Tony Walker said in the next 10 years, women were expected to outnumber men.
"Some of the women put the guys to shame in their ability to lift so … it was an anachronism at the time," he said.
"Our women have proved themselves well equal to any male in this organisation."
