The integration of women into law enforcement positions can be considered a large social change. A century ago, there were few jobs open to women in law enforcement. A small number of women worked as correctional officers, and their assignments were usually limited to peripheral tasks. Women traditionally worked in juvenile facilities, handled crimes involving female offenders, or performed clerical tasks. In these early days, women were not considered as capable as men in law enforcement. Recently, many options have opened up, creating new possible careers.
Overview by country
Australia
The first female police officers in Australia were appointed in
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
in July 1915 with
Lilian May Armfield (1884–1971) and Maude Marion Rhodes (–1956).
On 1 December 1915,
Kate Cocks
Kate Cocks (born Fanny Kate Boadicea Cock; 5 May 1875 – 20 August 1954) was a welfare worker and one of two of the state's first female police officers in South Australia. She is best known for her work with unmarried mothers and their babies ...
(1875–1954) was appointed the first of two woman police constables, with Annie Ross, in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, a position that had equal powers to male officers.
In
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
, discussions of female police officers were held in October 1915 but remained unfunded. Helen Blanche Dugdale (1876–1952) and Laura Ethel Chipper (1879–1978) were appointed in August 1917 to commence duties on 1 September 1917 as the first two female officers.
October 1917 saw
Madge Connor
Madge Irene Connor ( – 12 October 1952) was an Irish-born Australian police officer, who was the first woman to become a member of Victoria Police, and the first policewoman in Victoria, when she was appointed as a police agent in October 1917 ...
appointed as a 'police agent' of the
Victoria Police
Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''.
, Victo ...
, and in 1924 became one of four to be appointed as a police officer. Also in October 1917, Kate Campbell of Launceston was appointed to the
Tasmania Police
Tasmania Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian state of Tasmania. Established in 1899, the force has more than 1,300 officers policing Tasmania's population of over half a million people.
History
Colonial history
Prior ...
.
Queensland Police Department's first female police officers, Ellen O'Donnell and
Zara Dare
Zara Dare (28 May 1886 – 1 October 1965) was one of the first two female police officers of the Queensland Police Department, assigned number '2WP', appointed on 16 March 1931, until her resignation in March 1940 to get married. Prior to bei ...
(1886–1965), were inducted in March 1931 to assist in inquiries involving female suspects and prisoners. They were not granted uniform, police powers of arrest, nor superannuation.
The
Federal Capital Territory Police appointed their first of two female officers on 18 April 1947, to be in plain clothes, and had powers as a probation officer.
The
Northern Territory Police Force
The Northern Territory Police Force is the police body that has legal jurisdiction over the Northern Territory of Australia. This police service has 1,537 police members (as at 31 July 2019) made up of 79 senior sergeants, 228 sergeants, 839 co ...
was accepting female officers by 1960, as long as they were unmarried, and aged between 25 and 35.
In June 1971, the first female promotion to superintendent was believed to be Miss Ethel Scott of the
Western Australia Police
The Western Australia Police Force, colloquially WAPOL, provides police services throughout the state of Western Australia, an area of 2.5 million square kilometres, the world's largest non-federated area of jurisdiction, with a population ...
. In April 1980, Australia's first female police motorcyclist was believed to be Constable Kate Vanderlaan of the
Northern Territory Police Force
The Northern Territory Police Force is the police body that has legal jurisdiction over the Northern Territory of Australia. This police service has 1,537 police members (as at 31 July 2019) made up of 79 senior sergeants, 228 sergeants, 839 co ...
who rode a Honda 750 cc police special around Darwin. NSW Police graduated a self-identified First Nations female officer in September 1982 given to be the State's first First Nations female officer.
Australia's and
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
's first female commissioner was
Christine Nixon
Christine Nixon (born 11 June 1953) is an Australian former police officer who was the chief commissioner of Victoria Police from 23 April 2001 to 27 February 2009, being the first female chief commissioner in any Australian state police force. ...
(1953–) in April 2001, to February 2009.
Katarina Carroll
Katarina Ruzh Carroll (nee Bošnjak) (born 17 November 1963) is an Australian police officer and the Commissioner of the Queensland Police Service since July 2019. She is the first female commissioner of QPS. She was formerly the Commissioner ...
(1963–) became the twentieth and first female commissioner of the
Queensland Police Service
The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...
, in 2019.
Austria
Women have played an important role in enforcement since the early 1990s in Austria. On 1 September 2017, Michaela Kardeis became the first female chief of federal Austrian police, which includes all police units in the country and a staff of 29,000 police officers.
Canada
RCMP Training
The RCMP Depot Division is the only location for future RCMP cadets to complete their training held in
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 C ...
. The 26-week training of constables, conducted at the
RCMP Academy, does not differentiate between men and women. The troop consists of 32 men and women who are required to follow their 26-week training together as a cadre. Other municipal and provincial police services have their own similar training programs without gender disparity.
Firsts
*
Rose Fortune
Rose Fortune (March 13, 1774 – February 20, 1864) was a child born in or around Philadelphia of runaway slaves. Her parents became Black Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War when they pledged to be loyal to the British Army in exc ...
was the first Canadian female to become a successful police officer. She was also a businesswoman who had been born into slavery and was relocated at age 10 to
Annapolis Royal
Annapolis Royal, formerly known as Port Royal, is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Today's Annapolis Royal is the second French settlement known by the same name and should not be confused with the n ...
, Nova Scotia, as part of the
Black Loyalist
Black Loyalists were people of African descent who sided with the Loyalist (American Revolution), Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War. In particular, the term refers to men who escaped enslavement by Patriot (American Revolution), Pat ...
migration. In the early 19th century Rose Fortune began setting curfews at the wharves and the surrounding area, which appointed her as the first Canadian unofficial policewoman, known for her ability to keep unruly youngsters in order. She was on familiar terms with the leading citizens of the town.
*Katherine Ryan (aka Klondike Kate) was hired February 5, 1900, at the Whitehorse Detachment in the Northwest Territories was kept as a matron to deal with female offenders and also be part of an escort team when female prisoners were moved from one place to another. She was the first woman hired in the RCMP, and was a special constable.
On September 16, 1974, thirty-two women are sworn in with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as their first female officers. All thirty-two were sworn in simultaneously across Canada as a gesture to ensure the pressure of being the first female RCMP officer was not transferred to one woman but for the group to uphold as a whole. In 1994, Lenna Bradburn becomes the police chief of the service in Guelph, Ontario, becoming Canada's first female chief of police. Christine Silverberg becomes Calgary's first female Chief of Police in 1995. 2006 saw Beverly Busson become the first female commissioner of the RCMP on an interim basis. In 2016, female officers make up 21% of all police officers in Canada. In 2018, we see Brenda Lucki as the first female RCMP commissioner on a permanent basis.
Germany
In Germany, women were employed in the police force from 1903, when
Henriette Arendt
Henriette Arendt (11 November 1874 – 22 August 1922) was a German writer and policewoman. She is known because she was one of the earliest women to be a police officer, being a policewoman in 1903.
She was the aunt of philosopher and historian H ...
was employed as a policewoman.
The Netherlands
In 1920, the Dutch police force specifically called for women to be employed in the new police office dealing with children and sex crimes within the Amsterdam police force. Initially, this office employed nurses, but in 1923,
Meta Kehrer
Meta (from the Ancient Greek, Greek μετά, ''wikt:meta-, meta'', meaning "after" or "beyond") is a prefix meaning "more comprehensive" or "transcending".
In modern nomenclature, ''meta''- can also serve as a prefix meaning self-referential, a ...
became the first woman Inspector of the Dutch police force, and in 1943, she also became the first woman to be appointed chief inspector.
New Zealand
Examined by at least 1936, the
New Zealand Police
The New Zealand Police ( mi, Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa) is the national police service and principal law enforcement agency of New Zealand, responsible for preventing crime, enhancing public safety, bringing offenders to justice, and maintai ...
did not admit women as police officers until 1941. They were not provided uniform, but had a lapel pin for their coats. By 1992, less than 10 percent of officers were female.
Poland
In 1923, under the influence of concern expressed by the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
about the increase in prostitution, crime among minors and crimes related to human trafficking, the Polish State Police began to consider establishing a separate women's section. Such a solution was advocated by, among others, the Polish Committee for Fighting Trafficking in Women and Children. Initially, the Central Bureau for International Fighting of Trafficking in Women and Children in the Republic of Poland, operating within Department II of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was established, headed by a veteran of the
Voluntary Legion of Women, Lieutenant
Stanisława Paleolog
Stanisława Filipina Paleolog (4 May 1892, in Lviv Raion, Rumno, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Galicia – 3 December 1968, in United Kingdom) was a Polish official, military and political activist. She participated in warfare within the Po ...
.
Finally, on February 26, 1925, the Commander-in-Chief of the State Police signed a decree allowing women to work in the State Police. After training, the first 30 policewomen were admitted and by 1930 their number had increased to 50. Candidates could only be maids or childless widows between 25 and 45 years old, in good health, at least tall and with short hair. Moreover, they had to provide a certificate of morality, an opinion about themselves issued by one of the women's organizations, and an assurance that they would not get married for 10 years after being accepted to the service.
Most of the policewomen from the first recruitment were sent to the Warsaw Sanitary and Social Brigade. The practice soon showed that policewomen were often more effective than their male colleagues in street scuffles, working with minors, or in interventions concerning domestic violence and sexual crimes. Policewomen also cooperated well with social organizations that dealt with
human trafficking
Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
and
pimping
Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...
, such as the so-called station missions, women's protection societies or Catholic women's orders.
In August 1935, an independent Referat for Officers and Private Women was created at Department IV of the National Police Headquarters, headed by Assistant Commissioner Stanisława Paleolog. At that time a special 9-month course for female privates was created, the graduates of which were sent as constables to prevention or investigation units. Women's Police units operated in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
,
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
,
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
,
Lviv
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
and
Łódź
Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...
. Apart from separate women's units, policewomen were also assigned to criminal brigades or juvenile detention rooms in
Poznań
Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...
,
Gdynia
Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and ...
,
Kalisz
(The oldest city of Poland)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = ''Top:'' Town Hall, Former "Calisia" Piano Factory''Middle:'' Courthouse, "Gołębnik" tenement''Bottom:'' Aerial view of the Kalisz Old Town
, image_flag = POL Kalisz flag.svg ...
,
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...
and
Stanisławów. By the end of 1936, another 112 women were taken into service, and in the following years a few dozen more were recruited each year. In total, until the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, courses at the Warsaw School for State Police Officers were completed by about 300 policewomen.
During the
September campaign
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week after ...
, most of the female police shared the fate of their colleagues from local police stations. Stanisława Paleologna herself, promoted to the rank of commissioner in 1939, separated from the evacuation transport of the National Police Headquarters and, together with part of the policewomen's training company, took part in the battles of General Franciszek Kleeberg's
Independent Operational Group "Polesie". During the occupation, as part of the State Security Corps, Paleolog trained future female cadres for the post-war Polish police. After the war she remained in exile in Great Britain, where she cooperated with
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...
, and in 1952, she published the first monograph of the Polish women's police entitled "''The women police of Poland (1925-1939)''".
Sweden
In 1908, the first three women, Agda Hallin, Maria Andersson and Erica Ström, were employed in the
Swedish Police Authority
The Swedish Police Authority ( sv, Polismyndigheten) is the national police force (''Polisen'') of the Kingdom of Sweden. The first modern police force in Sweden was established in the mid-19th century, and the police remained in effect under loc ...
in Stockholm upon the request of the
Swedish National Council of Women
National Council of Swedish Women (Swedish: "Svenska Kvinnors Nationalförbund") is the Swedish branch of the International Council of Women.
It was founded in 1896 by Ellen Fries to function as an umbrella organisation for women's organisations i ...
, who referred to the example of Germany.
Their trial period was deemed successful and from 1910 onward, policewomen were employed in other Swedish cities. However, they did not have the same rights as their male colleagues: their title were ''Polissyster'' ('Police Sister'), and their tasks concerned women and children, such as taking care of children brought under custody, performing body searches on women, and other similar tasks which were considered unsuitable for male police officers.
![Swedish Blonde Police](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Swedish_Blonde_Police.jpg)
The introduction of
Competence Law in 1923, which formally guaranteed women all positions in society, was not applicable in the police force because of the two exceptions included in the law which excluded women from the office of priest in the state church - as well as from the military, which was interpreted to include all public professions in which women could use the
monopoly on violence
In political philosophy, a monopoly on violence or monopoly on the legal use of force is the property of a polity that is the only entity in its jurisdiction to legitimately use force, and thus the supreme authority of that area.
While the mon ...
.
In 1930, the ''Polissyster'' were given extended rights and were allowed to be present at houses searches in women's homes, conduct interrogations of females related to sexual crimes, and do patrol reconnaissance.
In 1944, the first formal police course for women opened; in 1954, the title "police sister" was dropped and police officers could be both men and women. From 1957, women received equal police education to that of their male colleagues.
United Kingdom
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
provided an impetus for the first appointment of female officers. The first woman to be appointed a police officer with full powers of arrest was
Edith Smith (1876–1923), who was sworn in to Grantham Borough Police in August 1915. A small number were appointed in the ensuing years. Policewomen would originally be in separate teams or divisions to the men, such as the A4 division in the Metropolitan Police. Their duties were different, with the early policewomen being limited to dealing with women and children. This separation ended in the 1970s.
Until 1998, women in the police force had their rank prefixed with a letter W (for example, "WPC" for
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
).
In March 2016, 28.6% of police officers in
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
were women.
This was an increase from 23.3% in 2007.
[ Notable women in the police forces include ]Cressida Dick
Dame Cressida Rose Dick (born 16 October 1960) is a British retired senior police officer who served as Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis from 2017 to 2022. She is both the first female and first openly homosexual officer to lead the Me ...
, the former Commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
.
United States
The first policewomen in the United States included Marie Owens
Marie Owens (December 21, 1853 – June 1927; born Marie Connolly aka Marie Connolly Owens) is believed to have been the first female police officer in the U.S. and the first female police officer in the Chicago Police Department, in 1891, r ...
, who joined the Chicago Police department in 1891; Lola Baldwin
Aurora "Lola" Greene Baldwin (1860 – June 22, 1957) was an American woman who became one of the first policewomen in the United States. In 1908, she was sworn in by the City of Portland as Superintendent of the Women's Auxiliary to the Pol ...
, who was sworn in by the city of Portland in 1908; Fanny Bixby
Fanny Weston Bixby Spencer (November 6, 1879 - April 30, 1930), also referred to as Fanny Bixby was an American philanthropist and Anti-war movement, antiwar writer. She joined the fledgling Long Beach Police Department (California), Long Beach pol ...
, also sworn into office in 1908 by the city of Long Beach, California; and Alice Stebbins Wells
Alice Stebbins Wells (June 13, 1873 – August 17, 1957) was one of the first American-born female police officers in the United States, hired in 1910 in Los Angeles.
Career
Early career
Alice was a graduate of Oberlin College and Hartford T ...
, who was initiated into the Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
in 1910. In 1943, Frances Glessner Lee
Frances Glessner Lee (March 25, 1878 – January 27, 1962) was an American forensic scientist. She was influential in developing the science of forensics in the United States. To this end, she created the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained De ...
was appointed captain in the New Hampshire State Police, becoming the first woman police captain in the United States.
Since then, women have made progress in the world of law enforcement. The percentage of women rose from 7.6% in 1987, to 12% in 2007 across the United States.
Discrimination
Despite women being in law enforcement for over one hundred years, they are still faced with discrimination and harassment. Policewomen often face discrimination from their fellow officers and many women encounter the "glass ceiling
A glass ceiling is a metaphor usually applied to women, used to represent an invisible barrier that prevents a given demographic from rising beyond a certain level in a hierarchy.Federal Glass Ceiling Commission''Solid Investments: Making Full ...
", meaning they are not able to move up in rank and can only advance as far as the imposed ceiling will allow. Women tend to overlook and minimize the discrimination they face. Discrimination and problems towards women in law enforcement are not limited to the station house. Many policewomen who are married to other officers face a higher risk of domestic violence. A 2007 study stated 27,000-36,000 female police officers may be a victim of domestic violence. Domestic violence increases to nearly 40%, from a normal societal level of 30%, in households of officers.
While women are not as likely to be physically assaulted while on the job, they do face more sexual harassment, most of which comes from fellow officers. In 2009, 77% of policewomen from thirty-five different counties have reported sexual harassment for their colleagues. Women are asked to “go behind the station house” or are told other inappropriate things while on the job. Not only that, but there is often physical sexual harassment that takes place in the station house. So it is not only verbal, but also physical sexual harassment that policewomen face on a daily basis.[Breaking and Entering Policewomen on Patrol. Martin. University of California Press. London. 1980.] Policewomen also experience greater mobility, frequently being moved from one assignment to another. As of 1973, 45% of policewomen and 71% of policemen remained in their regular uniforms, 31% of policewomen and 12% of policemen were given inside assignments, and 12% of policewomen and 4% of policemen had other street assignments. Policewomen are less likely to be promoted within the department (going from officer to sergeant, sergeant to lieutenant, etc.) and are also more likely to be given different assignments and are less likely to keep the same beat (patrol position).
Gender inequality plays a major role in the law enforcement field. Women in law enforcement are often resented by their male counterparts and many face harassment (Crooke). Many do not try to strive for higher positions because they may fear abuse by male coworkers, while few women receive the guidance they need to overcome these obstacles. Many women may feel they need to prove themselves to be accepted.
One preconception of female officers is they are more capable in communicating with citizens because they come off as more disarming and can talk their way through difficult situations. A study indicated that due to female officers' perseverance and unique abilities, they are becoming a fundamental part of contemporary policing. Women are found to response more effectively to incidents of violence against women, which make up approximately half of the calls to police. Research also indicates that women are less likely to use excessive force or pull their weapon.
Race
Multiple studies have shown that black women in particular suffer from a matrix of domination and discrimination as they negotiate the politics of institutional racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
, affirmative action, and tokenism
Tokenism is the practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to be inclusive to members of minority groups, especially by recruiting people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of racial or gender equality wit ...
. As the section above notes, there is no single “female experience” of the policing profession. Collins (1990) and Martin (1994) argue that race gives black female police officers a distinct feminist consciousness of their experiences. These experiences are colored by stereotypes attributed to black women as “hot mamas,” “welfare queens,” and “mammies.”These caricatures are contrasted by perceptions of white women as “pure,” “submissive,” and “domestic.” While both sets of stereotypes are problematic, those attributed to black women lead to more suspicion and hostility in the workplace. Black women report receiving less protection and respect from their male colleagues. For many, black female officers lack the “pedestal” of femininity enjoyed by white women in the profession. In a study done by the College of Police and Security Studies, some 29% of white female officers acknowledged that black women in law enforcement have a harder time than white women. Discrimination among female police officers also seems to be prevalent even though black police officers, both male and female, make up only 12% of all local departments. There is also the issue of women being excluded from special units, with at least 29% of the white women and 42% of the black women mentioning this phenomenon.
Susan E. Martin (1994) conducted a study in Chicago interviewing both male and female command staff and officers on their perceptions of discrimination in the workplace. The results of this study showed that in general, women experienced more discrimination than men. Experiences differed within races as well, with black women reporting higher rates of discrimination than black men.
Sexuality
The sexual orientation of a police officer can also influence the experiences of that officer. Women with non-heterosexual orientations deal with an additional set of stereotypes, exclusion, and harassment. Galvin-White and O'Neil (2015) examined how lesbian police officers negotiate their identities and relationships in the workplace. As they note, lesbian police officers must negotiate an identity that is "invisible" in that it is not necessarily detected by sight. Therefore, it is largely up to the individual to decide whether or not they come out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
to her colleagues. Many decide not to come out due to the stigmas surrounding LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
identities, which may manifest themselves through discriminatory hiring processes and promotions. Galvin-White and O'Neil demonstrate that the decision to come out varies by individual and across the profession. The most salient factor influencing an individual's decision to come out is the extent of homophobia in the work environment.[Galvin-White, Christine M.; O'Neil, Eryn Nicole (2015). "Lesbian Police Officers' Interpersonal Working Relationships and Sexuality Disclosure: A Qualitative Study." ''Feminist Criminology.'']
Just as women are discriminated against in the police force for not fulfilling the traditional male traits of a police officer, so are members of the LGBT community for challenging traditional gender norms. While there have been recent efforts to recruit gay and lesbian police officers to boost diversity in the profession, the stigmas and challenges facing these officers remain. Research shows that lesbian officers who have come out are often excluded by both their male and female colleagues for not conforming to traditional femininity. Many of the studies Galvin-White and O'Neil cite report that lesbian police officers are often not able to trust their colleagues for backup or protection.
See also
* Women in the military
Women have served in the military in many different roles in various jurisdictions throughout history. Women in many countries are no longer excluded from some types of combat missions such as piloting, mechanics, and infantry officer. Since 1 ...
References
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