Gender Interventions in the Dutch Police Force: Resistance as a Tool for Change?

Abstract

Previous studies have documented strong resistance towards gender interventions. By contributing to theories on gender change, this paper increases our understanding of the reasons for this resistance and looks at how this resistance can be made productive in gendered interventions. Drawing on a case study in the Dutch Police force, the authors use case reconstructions of appointments to examine the introduction and reception of gender quota. They show how radical interventions such as quota can help to uncover the subtlety of gender inequality practices and make persistent and implicit stereotypes visible and discussable; they also show how radical interventions can trigger the reflexivity of actors. They conclude that the resistance against the interventions can be made productive because it allows for alternative construction of values. An analysis of resistance to gender interventions can contribute to diagnosing problems in the strategising and implementation of these interventions.

The Perils of Gender Beliefs for Men Leaders as Change Agents for Gender Equality

“…Women and men representing diversity but not having the same habitus as power elites have even fewer chances of reaching board level. Resistance to programmes aimed at tackling structural inequalities continues to be strong, on the basis that they are seen as helping women, but obscuring the taken for granted fact that men have always been the recipient of implicit support in organisations (van den Brink and Stobbe, 2009). The empirical results show that this is stronger among men leaders.…”

“…The introduction of quotas invokes a highly charged ethical dilemma, contesting the meanings of key concepts such as 'merit', 'discrimination' and 'fairness ' (Benschop and van den Brink, 2014;Browne, 2014). In Norway, the quota legislation met strong resistance from within companies.…”

“…In Norway, the quota legislation met strong resistance from within companies. In the Netherlands, a quota for top police offers was heavily resisted because of similar reasons (van den Brink and Benschop, 2018). Quota regulations were considered to be illegitimate unequal treatment and a discrimination against men.…”

“…It was also claimed that the quota law would hamper owners' democratic right to recruit candidates and, in particular, interfere with the election process at the stakeholders meeting. In the Netherlands, a quota for top police offers was heavily resisted because of similar reasons (van den Brink and Benschop, 2018). Opponents had concerns about the challenge to meritocracy values, the challenge to quality, the decrease of men's career possibilities and the 'violation' of meticulous and transparent procedures.…”

“…Essentialist explanations to justify gender inequalities are widespread (Fausto-Sterling, 1985;Bem, 1993;Haslam and Whelan, 2008), including when it comes to women's representation in leadership (Billing, 2011;van den Brink and Benschop, 2014). Essentialist gender beliefs lead to the problematisation of women's choices and priorities, and it is taken for granted that leadership remains the preserve of men.…”