Since the 19th
century, women in America have worked in law enforcement. Surprised? Women were
mostly relegated to clerical roles or jobs as dispatchers until the women's lib
movement of the 1970s, when popular television shows suddenly dramatized the
new breed of women cops and detectives. Civil rights and affirmative action
laws paved the way for women to assume law enforcement jobs traditionally held
by men. Today, women walk the beat, but not without challenges.
Originally called "matrons" when they were first hired by the New York City police department before the turn of the 20th century, female officers really didn't achieve full recognition for a very long time. In the mid-1970s, despite the popularity of television shows like Cagney and Lacy and Charlie's Angels, women only made up 2 percent of the total police work force.
In 1985, Penny Harrington was appointed the first female police chief in the nation, serving in Portland, Oregon. Today, women hold an estimated 12 percent of all law enforcement jobs.
Originally called "matrons" when they were first hired by the New York City police department before the turn of the 20th century, female officers really didn't achieve full recognition for a very long time. In the mid-1970s, despite the popularity of television shows like Cagney and Lacy and Charlie's Angels, women only made up 2 percent of the total police work force.
In 1985, Penny Harrington was appointed the first female police chief in the nation, serving in Portland, Oregon. Today, women hold an estimated 12 percent of all law enforcement jobs.
Discrimination against women
must be viewed as interlocking process involving the attitude and actions of
individuals and the organizations and social structure that guide individual
behavior. Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that
violates state and federal law. Sexual harassment decreases organizational productivity and
significantly impacts the health of a work environment. In law enforcement,
where officers must work long hours and conduct dangerous job tasks, sexual
harassment lowers job satisfaction and negatively impacts mission, safety, and
results. In spite of these negative consequences, a variety of surveys and
studies have demonstrated high levels of sexual harassment in police
departments around the world:
· A survey study among
serving policewomen from 35 countries revealed that 77% experienced sexual
harassment from colleagues
· In a study involving a
large Midwestern police department, every woman interviewed was subjected to
verbal harassment
· In a 2008 survey, more
than half of female officers had experienced sexual harassment in police
departments in Australia, Great Britain, and US
The irony is that this discrimination is still ruling our society until
today. Women officers, being minorities, are faced by hostile and a
discriminatory environment. Women
officers might be retaliated against by supervisors and colleagues on the team
because of reporting the harassment. This
happened in Westbrook Maine after 5 years of work in the same place where
inequality between males and women is dominant.
T
The findings demonstrate that workplace
discrimination is a reality for thousands of workers every year even women
officers in law enforcement. The effects on the community can be both mentally
and physically devastating. Police officers are generally
charged with the protection of the general public, and the maintenance of
public order to create a safe and secure environment for all. If in a specific police location where women
officers are being harassed by men officers, what other form of injustice is
happening to the public?
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