CONSTRAINTS AFFECTING THE CAREER DEVELOPMENTOF POLICEWOMEN

Equal employment opportunity (EEO) has been relatively unsuccessful in creating a fully integrated police workforce. Despite the introduction of a range of policies such as equal opportunity and sexual harassment, and despite a range of structures, the integration of policewomen across all ranks and locations has been modest. Indeed, the principles espoused by equal opportunity are not reflected in the attitudes of most policemen, and the resulting practices have led to inequality in terms of job opportunities (Young 1991, 195), retention rates and promotional prospects (Heidensohn 1992, 215). These attitudes have, in fact, had a major effect on the career development of policewomen (Jones 1986, 163). Policing remains a predominantly male occupational structure and culture, and assuming this predominantly male environment is also clearly at work in the management positions of most police organisations, then one must question whether EEO itself will ever be truly successful in creating a police organisation that not only represents policewomen, but one which is more representative of the community it serves. Given the somewhat limited success of EEO, then existing barriers to the full integration of policewomen should be fully explored. The purpose of this paper therefore is to take a closer look at some of the possible influences constrainin