NCJ Number
216849
Journal
International Journal of Police Science & Management Volume: 8 Issue: 4 Dated: Winter 2006 Pages: 266-281
Date Published
2006
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study examined the career development and challenges of policewomen in England and Wales.
Abstract
While a number of key themes emerged from the data, the author focused specifically on the significance of “time” in the policewomen’s career stories. Policewomen continually referred to the ability to “do” and to “manage” time as a key resource for managing a successful police career. If time was managed appropriately, officers were able to obtain organizational commitment and credibility, two key factors necessary for police leadership. Despite the importance of organizational commitment and credibility, policewomen were unable to offer accurate definitions of these terms or how they were accomplished and measured in the process of police work. Senior policewomen reported difficulty balancing their work and career requirements with the demands of family life. Many spoke of this tension between work and family as an “irresolvable conflict” yet most policewomen remained skeptical about alternative working practices, such as part-time work, because of the fear that their organization would not view them as fully committed. The author also discussed on how police organizations in England and Wales remain affected by gender at structural, cultural, and individual levels. Yet this gender inequity is obscured from view by the practice of gender neutrality that police organizations in England and Wales purport to follow. Policing organizations should be encouraged to adopt flexible working practices to support the needs of officers and personnel who have family responsibilities. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 senior policewomen from 4 police service areas in England and Wales. The interviews were open-ended, which allowed the policewomen to tell the stories of their career development, focusing on the opportunities and obstacles they faced as female police officers. Notes, references