Summary
Women entering predominantly male professions such as policing are often faced
with gender-related obstacles and challenges. In order to understand why women
have been resisted in policing, it is necessary to recognize the dynamics of the police
culture. Policing involves an informal work-group cohesion based, in large part, on
men's shared definition of their masculinity (Martin, 1980: 79). This work
environment creates challenges for female police officers to break through the
baniers created by male cultural norms and become integral members of the police
service. To explore female officers' experiences of working in an occupation
dominated by a male culture, a multiple-method case study approach was used that
involved qualitative interviews with 25 female police officers of the Winnipeg Police
Service (WPS), a short quantitative questionnaire on general job satisfaction levels
and an analysis of relevant documents provided by the WPS. The face-to-face
interviews allowed the women to express themselves freely about their perceptions
and experiences as female police officers. They discussed issues that were important
to them regarding how their work and personal life intermingle, including family and
work issues, advancement opportunities, camaraderie among peers, gendered styles
of policing and harassment and discrimination within the service. The women
explore ideas of improving their workplace and share experiences which show that
male cultural norms of the workplace still exist to create a chilly climate for female
officers.