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equal opportunity employment journal
Feb/March 2021
WOMEN IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
Women have never been as important in law enforcement as now.
A
lthough there were some women in law enforcement as early as the 1910s, those women cops worked mostly with children and women, guarded female prisoners, and were relegated to the “Women’s Bureau” with limited responsibilities. As you can imagine, breaking through the glass ceiling wasn’t easy, especially for the higher ranks within the police department. In 1972, Congress passed an amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting state and local agencies from job discrimination based on gender. Police departments were required to hire women for jobs on an equal basis with men. The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia conducted a study, assigning a number of newlyhired women officers to patrol work traditionally reserved
for male officers. The study observed the women for a year. Some of the key findings were significant: • Women patrol officers tended to be more effective than their male counterparts in avoiding violence and defusing potentially violent situations. • Women were less likely than men to engage in serious unbecoming conduct. • Citizens involved in incidents with police officers had the same level of respect for and favorable attitudes toward patrol officers of both sexes. • Women were becoming a force to be reckoned with. Read on to learn more about the history of women in law enforcement.
