Women in Police Leadership: 10 Action Items for Advancing Women and Strengthening Policing

By The Police Executive Research Forum

  Understanding the Barriers … and the Opportunities for Change This project sought to answer a simple question: Why? Why are women underrepresented in the leadership ranks of most police agencies? What are the barriers to advancement for women, and what are the strategies for overcoming those barriers? What can women do themselves to enhance their opportunities for attaining leadership positions? And, more importantly, what can police agencies do to help women along their career pathways? To help answer those questions, we reached out to hundreds of women in law enforcement and asked for their opinions and perspectives. Based on these information-gathering efforts, plus a review of the literature on women in policing, several key themes emerged, which are examined throughout this report: • Women have a strong interest in leadership roles. • Women don’t feel they need special consideration in hiring or training standards. • Agency culture is key. • Opportunities – for assignments and training – are not always equal. • Mentors play a crucial role for women looking to advance in policing. • Men are a crucial part of the equation. 10 Action Items for Advancing Women in Police Leadership Based on these and other themes, PERF developed 10 Action Items that police agencies can implement to help level the playing field and create more opportunities for women to advance in their departments. Some of these are steps that agencies can take right away, with little or no cost. Others will take more time and planning, and they may require dedicated resources or new spending. But all of the Action Items will demand a commitment on the part of agency leaders – police chiefs, sheriffs, their command staffs, and other upper- and mid-level managers. Implementing these Action Items will benefit more than the women currently in law enforcement and those who aspire to careers in policing. It will also benefit the agencies they work for. As many people – women and men – pointed out during the course of our research, increasing diversity at all levels makes police agencies stronger and more effective. Erika Shields, Chief of the Louisville Metro Police Department and a member of the PERF Board of Directors, summed it up during the discussion at the PERF Annual Meeting: “We’re stronger when we’re listening to people who don’t look like us. Diversity builds strength.”  

Washington DC: Police Executive Research Forum, 2023. 64p.