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

Abstract

This article provides rich and unique insights into the experiences of women police leaders across seven European regions. Drawing on interview data, it presents accounts of women’s experiences in policing and identifies informal and formal barriers to their advancement in European police organizations. Women police leaders report high levels of gender discrimination, obstruction and prejudice over the course of their careers. We argue that there are a number of subjective and informal criteria of ‘acceptability’ that shape women’s experiences of promotion and that informal patronage is a strong basis from which strategic appointments are made within European police systems. The article makes sense of the ways in which informal aspects of career progression function alongside formal promotion criteria to preserve men as the ‘ideal’ candidates for police leadership positions, resulting in a preference for other men and the exclusion of women. The relevance of these findings is key to informing the future selection and development of police leaders in an increasingly complex police landscape.

Is It Because You Don’t Want to? A Content Analysis of Police Executive Leaders’ Perceptions of Policewomen’s Careers in Europe

“…On the basis of the theoretical framework and especially in the research carried out by Natarajan (2008) and Silvestri and Tong (2020) , concerning to the differentiated conditions faced by men and women in the workplaces, the results of the study are shown in four main themes as follows: (1) Perceived Representation (adequate representation and supporting female quotas); (2) The perceived nature of police work (police relevant competences, physical strength required and work-life balance); (3) Perceived organizational structure of law enforcement and the police subculture (male police subculture and perceived discrimination); and (4) Perceived stereotyping of female police officers (female specific skills, motivation, capacity and strength and female specific organizational barriers). Results are described in Table 4 .…”

“…Historically, the role of the policeman has been played by men and the result is that, not only has their effectiveness or capabilities not been questioned, but the erroneous conclusion, never empirically endorsed, has been reached that the qualities required to be a good policeman are those that are stereotypical of male culture exclusively ( Lanier, 1996 ; Archbold et al, 2010 ; Van Laar et al, 2017 ). Thus, despite the gradual integration of women into the police forces, first by carrying out auxiliary tasks and, progressively, in more operational tasks, it may be that the career development of women is mediated by formal and informal barriers and obstacles linked to gender and organizational culture ( Silvestri and Tong, 2020 ).…”

“…Based on the factors proposed by Natarajan (2008) and Silvestri and Tong (2020) regarding the differentiated conditions faced by men and women in the workplaces, the literature review is developed as follow: (a) socio-cultural perceptions of the nature of police work: demands of the post, compatibility between the professional and personal role; (b) organizational structure and the police subculture: police subculture and discrimination; and (c) Stereotyping of female police work: motivations, specific capabilities.…”

“…The literature review has shown that in police work there are barriers ( Natarajan, 2008 ; Silvestri and Tong, 2020 ), prejudices and stereotypes ( Natarajan, 2008 ; Archbold et al, 2010 ), and culture manifestations ( Dick and Jankowicz, 2001 ; Barratt et al, 2014 ), that hinder the incorporation and career advancement of women ( Silvestri and Tong, 2020 ). Given that leaders in organizations play a role in overcoming or perpetuating such organizational dynamics the following questions guide our study: (1) From police executive leader’s perception, how desirable is to develop measures to achieve gender parity in the staffing structures?…”

“…The role of women in the police during the nineteenth century was essentially of an auxiliary nature, a kind of civilian who acted almost like a midwife in custody and support work in the search and custody of female suspects, or in administrative tasks of aid and support (Martin, 1989;Appier, 1992;Schulz, 1993;Premier, 1998). Women were not really accepted or integrated as police officers until a few decades ago, and it can be said that today not only are they still a minority, but their representation, especially in management positions, is much lower (Natarajan, 2008;Cordner and Cordner, 2011;Barratt et al, 2014;Silvestri and Tong, 2020), although it is difficult to determine the number of women and their representativeness in different positions in European police organizations due to the lack of complete official statistics or other information resources (Brown, 2000).…”