Issue link: http://lawandordermag.epubxp.com/i/65600
UP-CLOSE: WOMEN IN LAW ENFORCEMENT Promotion Barriers & Recommendations SUMMARY Female police officers face a dozen common but unique promotion and inclusion barriers. Here are the barriers and recommendations to help police administrators eliminate them. MORE INFORMATION www.womenandpolicing.com www.nawlee.com. SOLUTIONS TO COMMON BARRIERS FOR FEMALE OFFICERS By Lisa Grace Female police of- ficers have come a long way since their inclusion into the field of law enforcement in the 1800s. However, even with the strides made through federal legislation, female police officers still face "bar- riers" that hinder their career advancement op- portunities. Many studies have discussed individual examples of these promotion and inclu- sion barriers in law enforcement. How- ever, rarely do studies depict these barriers within a single framework from which po- lice administrators may more easily iden- tify and thus precisely target solutions to eliminate the existence of those barriers. The first key to a work environment that avoids these barriers is to understand where the barriers typically exist (internal or external). Of the dozen or so barriers, some exist outside the police department but most exist inside. Hence, the major- ity of these job promotion and inclusion barriers are within the police administra- tor's scope of influence. The second key is recommendations to assist them in proac- tively eliminating these barriers. Sexual Harassment (Internal Barrier) Gender discrimination and sexual harass- ment of female police officers along with continued displays of negative attitudes by male police officers has a negative impact on the retention of female officers. Retali- ation against females for filing sexual ha- rassment complaints can be severe and 70 LAW and ORDER May I May 2012 2012 making such a complaint can be a "ca- reer killer" for women in policing. Due to the tremendous peer pressure placed on women not to make a complaint, some women resign rather than go through the stress of an investigation and the conse- quent retaliation. Law enforcement administrators should take gender discrimination and sexual ha- rassment complaints seriously and assume the proactive role of impartial facilitator when addressing these complaints. No law enforcement administrator likes the stigma of having a complaint or grievance filed under their watch. However, the manner in which administrators facilitate the handling of gender discrimination and sexual harassment complaints has conse- quences for all involved. Compared to Male Peers (Internal Barrier) Being compared and judged to male peers makes the work environment for female police officers more stressful and chal- lenging with regard to promotion op- portunities. When male law enforcement administrators compare their female sub- ordinates to male abilities and aptitudes