Women in police leadership: Making rank as a marker of progress?

Fleming, Jenny, Brown, Jennifer and Silvestri, Marisa (2023) Women in police leadership: Making rank as a marker of progress? In, Prenzler, Tim (ed.) Gender inclusive policing: Challenges and achievements. Brisbane, Australia. Routledge.

Abstract

An awareness and understanding of women’s career experiences in policing has grown exponentially across the world (Carrington et al., 2022; Jardine, 2019; Natarajan, 2014; Rabe-Hemp & Garcia, 2020). Yet despite the emergence of a critical body of scholarship policewomen are invariably presented as a homogenous group. Gendered analyses are mostly fixed within the experiences of lower ranked officers and arguably do not fully capture women’s differential experiences of a career in policing. In this chapter, we focus on women working in or aspiring to police leadership roles. Though women in leadership roles are under-represented in police organisations globally, some progress has been made. Equality policies are now in place, glass ceilings have been broken, and conversations about the representation of women in policing are evident. This chapter focuses predominantly on England and Wales where women have made relatively significant inroads in police leadership roles. Our analysis has resonance and implications for women police leaders and police organisations internationally.

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Contributors

Author: Jenny Fleming

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