This paper discusses the issues surrounding the lack of females in positions of power within law enforcement. It examines the reasons as to why this might be, including: gender discrimination, and gender role stereotypes, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. This paper concludes with programs and policies that can work to change these discrepancies in the future of law enforcement.

 

      The United States did not allow women into the workforce until about a hundred years ago. Many career fields still have a large difference between the number of male and female workers, especially in male-dominated industries. Law enforcement heavily showcases this issue, where in most areas women compose only 20% or less of the workforce. Women are especially underrepresented within managerial positions. For example, the Federal Bureau of Investigations has never had a female director or deputy director. In 2016, females only made up about 20% of the agency overall and only held 12% of the senior agent positions (Goldman, 2016). Local and state agencies throughout the country also showcase these low statistics. This issue needs attention because females should equally represent those within positions of power in the field of Criminal Justice.  In addition, law enforcement should reflect the overall diversity of our country. Having more women within positions of power would allow more females to have positive role models in the industry. Many reasons contribute to each individual woman’s choice not to seek promotions and those issues include: gender discrimination and gender role stereotyping, sexual harassment, and sexual misconduct within the industry. These systematic issues result in women avoiding seeking out positions of power and help to explain why women often do not get chosen for promotions.

 

Statistics of Women in Law Enforcement

            Law enforcement has allowed women in their workforce since the late 1800’s, but the numbers of women in these positions did not begin to increase significantly until after the conclusion of World War II. These low numbers dissatisfied many organizations and associations who began to demand that women represent 50% of the employees in the police force (Shishani, 2016). This concept should not seem far-fetched since women compose almost 51% of the overall population; however, as of 2010, all levels of law enforcement in the United States have not met these numbers. The statistics showed that women composed about “12% of all sworn law enforcement positions in the United States;” within larger police agencies they hold only “7.3% of top command positions, 9.6% of supervisory positions, and 13.5% of line operation positions” (Archbold & Stichman, 2010). These numbers repeat within federal agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations, as well. As of October 2016, women held about 12% of the senior agent positions within the bureau. The FBI did not even allow women as agents for the bureau until after J. Edgar Hoover passed away in 1972, meaning that the FBI has only allowed women to work as agents for about 47 years. A woman has also never held the role of director or deputy director with the bureau, the two highest positions possible (Goldman, 2016). These numbers have actually decreased in the past few years as well. While it appears that the workplace has made progress in regards to female representation in the workplace, male-dominated fields, such as law enforcement, have not caught up.

            Many reasons contribute to the low percentage rates of females in law enforcement. Many of these factors come from the workplace viewing women as ‘tokens’ in the workplace. When a group “represents less than 15%” of the workplace, that population becomes labeled as a token; the token populations have also shown to have a “more negative workplace experiences” than those who hold the majority (Archbold & Stichman, 2010). These negative experiences can lead groups, such as women, to feel unwanted and undervalued in the workplace and as if they cannot pursue the managerial positions. On top of that, with such few women holding leadership positions in the agencies, women officers do not have role models or someone that they identify with to look up to. This can have a serious effect on these token populations and whether or not they feel they can pursue positions of power as well.

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Reasons Women Do Not Seek Out or Take Promotional Opportunities

            When it comes to promotional opportunities for women in law enforcement, opportunities do get offered, but often times women deny the opportunities presented for them due to a few different reasons. These reasons range from not having female role models to look up to or having families that they need to take care of, to feeling harassed for their gender by the department.

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            Gender Discrimination and Gender Role Stereotyping

            Due to regulations put on workplace environments, managers do not allow outright discrimination, but in specific male-dominated industries it still exists. Not only do aspects of discrimination still exist throughout the departments, the stereotyping of the female role in society also has an impact on how others in the industry view them. Women, or femininity in general, have always held a subordinate role in our patriarchal society (Barratt & Thompson, 2014). Society often looks down upon females as the weaker sex and this stereotype does not fit the police officer role. Women make up a minority within jobs in the criminal justice system and this can make people feel less valued in their team or in the organization as a whole, all due to their identity (Veldman, Meeuseen, & Phalet, 2017). When a department devalues someone and they feel as though they have to work ten times harder to achieve the same position, it can truly deter many from trying at all. This concept becomes more frustrating when it occurs from an uncontrollable factor such as femininity.

            Research has shown that when women in police departments conform to more masculine behaviors, men become more likely to help mentor them. (Barratt & Thompson, 2014). This fact showcases that more feminine behaviors carry a stigma that can severely impact women trying to make a career in law enforcement. If the women do not change their behavior to fit that of the workplace, they likely will not receive the mentoring they deserve and this can lead to the women not seeking out the promotional opportunities later on. If more women held positions within law enforcement, role models for those trying to seek higher positions of power would become more readily available without having to change their behaviors. Having these role model opportunities could lead to more females applying for the promotions.

            Society also often expects that women will stay at home and take care of their families, no matter their position in society. This stereotype sits with a lot of women and makes them feel guilty if they work a job where they cannot help take care of their children or if the job seems too dangerous. Women often take on the majority of “family and children-related responsibilities” and they feel that “they may be perceived not able to put in the appropriate ‘time’ that is necessary to become promoted” or to continue the job afterwards (Archibold, Hassell, & Stichman, 2010).  The stereotype often affects women and many claim this as a reason they do not take promotional opportunities presented to them within the law enforcement field. If society did not place this stereotype on women, or placed the same pressures on men, we would likely see a lessening of this disparity.

            Comments overheard by coworkers further perpetuate these stereotypes. A female FBI agent recalls overhearing a male agent say “I hope she quits. She can stay home in the kitchen” (Goldman, 2016). These comments not only enforce the stereotype of women staying home and not working out in the field, but it makes the females in the department feel undervalued and unwilling to take promotional opportunities. If their equals in the department do not value them, the women often feel as if they will not receive respect when put in charge of other agents. This can become extremely frustrating and demoralizing for women in this kind of field. Many of these comments reach levels of sexual harassment as well, but the department may not take the complaints seriously. Women then feel as though they have to put up with this behavior their entire career, or leave the department if it persists.

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            Sexual Harassment and Sexual Misconduct

            Sexual harassment holds many definitions, but the definition analyzed here defines it as: “improper behavior that has a sexual dimension” or “unwanted sex-related behavior at work that is appraised by the recipient as offensive, exceeding her resources or threatening well-being” (De Hass, Timmerman, & Höing, 2009). Numerous conducted surveys analyze sexual harassment in different fields around the world, but one study analyzed police women from 35 different countries. The results showed that 77% of those women claimed to have experienced sexual harassment from colleagues at some point during their career (De Haas, et al., 2009).  If such a large percentage of women feel harassed or undervalued at work, based on their gender, their drive to seek out promotional opportunities decreases. On top of that, many women might actually leave the department overall due to these comments: “former police women, as concrete reasons for leaving work, have noted the rejection of ‘proposals for sex’ by their colleagues” (Shishani, 2016). Having to put up with constant demoralizing comments or proposals for sex from colleagues becomes exhausting and many women may not value the job over it.

            Comments made by coworkers that constantly degrade women in the department and make them feel as though they do not belong also contributes to sexual harassment. Most women within the workforce, especially within male dominated fields have stories of comments from coworkers that made them uncomfortable and feel as though their colleagues did not respect them at an equal level. In one agency, a sergeant overheard one male officer refer to her “and two other girls [female officers] as ‘ho’s’” (Maher, 2010). If men feel comfortable referring to their superior officers as a ‘ho,’ many women feel accepting a promotion will not see an increase respectful behavior. Another women remembers a time she experienced sexual harassment in the job: “I was kneeling down trying to fix the copier when this one guy [male officer] said something about women always being on their knees…I made it pretty clear I didn’t like the comment, but I really don’t think he got it, or maybe he just didn’t care” (Maher, 2010). Some female officers cannot even complete menial tasks in the office without the harassment of fellow officers. Local agencies and departments do not experience this problem alone; it occurs at the federal level as well. The FBI itself has experienced multiple lawsuits against them for sexual harassment and discrimination (Goldman, 2016). This constant harassment builds up and works as a leading factor in women leaving the department. As these stories get shared, it can deter other women from joining law enforcement as well.

            Women in law enforcement face more than sexual harassment from fellow officers. The idea of more serious police sexual misconduct, or PSM, also plagues the departments. Whether the suspects/victims or the female officers themselves experience this behavior, witnessing it can impact their experience with the department. The concern for police sexual misconduct has become a more recent problem, as many did not have concerns about service professionals in the past. PSM itself involved a wide variety of different  behaviors, they:

range considerably from very serious, violent criminal behaviors (e.g., rape, sexual, sexual shakedowns, and sex with juveniles) to less serious, generally non violent behaviors (e.g., voyeurism, sexual harassment, on-duty consensual sex, unnecessary callbacks to crime victims and witnesses, or making a traffic stop simply to get acquainted with or get a closer look at vehicle’s occupants)  (Maher, 2010).

The majority of PSM that female officers experience themselves is that of sexual harassment, as discussed above, but female officers have also expressed views that males officers do not view the behavior as serious as the females do. One study of 20 female officers showed that they view PSM as a very common occurrence within the workplace, however a majority of the PSM falls under the ‘less serious’ category (Maher, 2010). These studies show that many men in the police department do not hold this same belief, but the viewpoints of the women cannot get brushed under the rug. If most women believe their male colleagues participate in this behavior, they may feel unsafe or unwanted within the department, causing a decrease of female employees, especially those applying for promotions. Many women also feel that if they report these behaviors, male supervisors will not take the reports seriously or that no action will take place. This contributes to feeling unheard and tossed aside by the department, furthering the feelings of isolation.

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Viewpoint of Men on Women in Law Enforcement

            Often times, men hold the power throughout law enforcement and many of the promotional opportunities for women come from a male supervisor. Men, however, have varying viewpoints on women in law enforcement: while some men believe that women have no place within law enforcement, other males in the criminal justice system support and mentor women. Much research has been conducted to analyze the general feeling that men have in regards to the lack of women in promoted positions.

            Some men hold negative attitudes towards their female colleagues because they support “the view that women are not sufficiently aggressive and powerful to perform patrol duties” (Shishani, 2016). This matches the viewpoint of the stereotype on femininity within society. Some men in law enforcement believe that the traditionally female characteristics do not work within the role of a police officer and think the position should rely on males. This viewpoint causes the isolation of female officers and the belief that they do not belong in the agency. Without support from their coworkers, the numbers of females pursuing promotional opportunities, or working to remain in their position at all, declines.

In some agencies, studies show that “male supervisors were strongly encouraging the female officers to participate in the promotion process” but that this actually deterred some women from applying (Archbold, et. al., 2010) . Women felt that this encouragement spread a stigma that women would receive the promotion no matter what in order to increase the percentage of women promoted. Women do not want positions of power handed to them, but instead, want to receive them because they deserve it and have earned it. Even encouragement from male colleagues and supervisors can spread negative viewpoints on women in law enforcement.

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Policies and Programs

            While law enforcement does not currently have many policies and programs in place in order to increase the amounts of women they employ, a few do exist while others are suggestions. For example, former FBI director, James Comey, had plans in place to increase the numbers of women. He planned to bring the number of female agents to 33% within the next few years (Goldman, 2016). While Comey no longer holds the director of the FBI position, his efforts live on. In order to match these efforts, recruitment of women specifically interested in the FBI needs to increase.

            Departments can put into place the suggestions of policy changes from the National Center for Women & Policing to increase the retention of and promotional opportunities for women in law enforcement. One of the main set of policy suggestions address the issues of sexual harassment and reporting in the workplace. This organization suggests setting strict policies in regards to harassment and implementing a system to hold people accountable for their actions. They also suggest developing a more concise complaint and investigation process for claims of sexual harassment. Many times victims have to follow the chain of command in order to report instances of sexual harassment, however, “someone in the chain of command, especially her direct supervisor, may be the harasser” (National Center for Women & Policing, 2001). Due to the issues with this system, they suggest possibly creating a form of a hotline in order to receive these complaints. This would allow women to feel heard in the department and allow for action to occur against those engaging in harassment. If women feel heard, their ambition to stay within the agency and possibly seek out those positions of power increases.

            This organization also suggests implementing more family friendly policies, increasing the access to female role models for the officers, and implementing more policies to help avoid gender discrimination in the agencies. If police departments review and change their policies in order to hold those who break them more accountable, women might feel as though they have more of a place within the agency. When women feel as though they have a place and more women begin to take promotional opportunities, the number of female role models for other officers to look up to will grow. Making simple changes to the policies will allow for this increase of women in law enforcement.

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Discussion and Conclusion

            Overall, the representation of females in law enforcement began poorly, and remains poor. The number of female officers recorded stays at a low rate, but the number of these women in leadership positions in criminal justice remains lower. The plethora of barriers preventing women from joining or feeling welcome in the agency of their choice maintain these low rates. Issues of gender discrimination, gender role stereotyping, sexual harassment, and police sexual misconduct all add up to make an unwelcoming environment in this field for women. The lack of women wanting to endure this process leads to a lack of female role models for those trying to join; this can lead to women feeling unsupported and misunderstood throughout their attempts of navigating this male dominated field. While some agencies have attempted to integrate programs in order to increase the amount of women who apply to positions in law enforcement, policies need to change in order to make women feel safer and as if they have a voice in the agency. Once more women feel supported by their agencies, they will encourage other women to join and it can lead to the increase in numbers of women in law enforcement. Women have a lot to offer these departments and leaders in criminal justice need to enact change in their departments to help change the discrepancies in the genders of their officers.

 

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