Disrupting the “Heroic” Male Within Policing: A Case of Direct Entry

Abstract

This article drives forward a more critical insight into the position of women within policing. In focusing on women as police leaders, it problematizes taken for granted representations of gender and proposes an alternative reading of their experiences. Drawing on theoretical work on gendered organizations, the article argues that greater attention needs to be paid to the cultural and structural conditions that enable the “heroic male” to emerge as the “ideal” police leader. It also considers the recent introduction of Direct Entry for senior officers in England and Wales as a disruptive tool to the gendered order within policing.

Women police leaders in Europe: A tale of prejudice and patronage

“…[Interviewee M56] Such views are perhaps not so surprising when we consider findings from the The power of such stereotypes is inextricably linked to debates about the 'ideal' worker within organisations. Silvestri (2018) argues that gendered ideas about what makes an 'ideal' police officer and an 'ideal' police leader underpin organisational and individual belief systems -in both cases, the 'ideal' is male. Such findings are echoed in Barth-Farkas and Vera's (2018: 56) study of prototypicality, power and gender in the German police.…”

“…This is not to suggest that formal rules are not important for making sense of the selection of candidates, they are. Silvestri's (2018) work on the formal aspects of the police career model in the England and Wales has done much to expose its discriminatory impacts.…”

Twenty-three women officers’ experiences of policing in England: The same old story or a different story?

“…Silvestri (2018: 309) noting Acker's analysis of organisations as gendered, explains that women are currently almost at 1/3 of the total police workforce and questions whether structural change such as direct entry (entering the police service at Superintendent or Inspector level) can disrupt the gendered order within policing. She notes Chan's (1996in Silvestri, 2018 suggestion of the possibility of and resistance to change alongside women's visibility and success, and how equality initiatives have led to claims of successful organisational change. However, in reference to Laverick andCain's (2015, in Silvestri , 2018: 312 ) analysis of the situation in England and Wales, she aptly notes the reduction of women holding rank status and a decline in women pursuing policing as an occupational choice.…”

“…The norm of hegemonic masculine culture, that is 'masculinities based on holding and preserving male power and privilege within society and subordination groups outside the dominant class' (Coyle and Sykes 1998;264 In Brown and Heidensohn, 2000;42), can still be seen within policing (Chan, et al, 2010;Cordner and Cordner, 2011). Evidence that this culture has been briefly interrupted during certain periods as described by Loftus (2008), or perhaps provides the means as Silvestri (2018) argues of disruption during specific periods of unrest or structural change, are points of interest to our study.…”

“…Women's inclusion into policing has not been a straightforward journey and numerous studies document specific issues that women officers have had to contend with. We know that female officers have had to deal with sexist attitudes, harassment, and discrimination (Heidensohn, 1986, Westmarland 2001, and that these themes and issues have continued (Brown and Heidensohn, 2000;Brown, 2000;Renzetti, 2013;Silvestri, 2018).…”