A Contemporary Snapshot of Policewomen Attitudes

Historically, women have been unwelcome in male-dominated police cultures; despite the gains acquired over many tumultuous years, policewomen continue to face significant obstacles. Men officers often promote the subordination of policewomen, and, because of this, some degree of emotional deterioration among women officers would be understandable. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of such a hypothesis. Questionnaires were mailed to all municipal police departments in one southern state with 50 or more sworn personnel (n = 21) and produced 1,114 responses from 16 departments. Analysis revealed that women officers' (n = 89) professionalism, job satisfaction, stress, and confidence levels demonstrate a condition of psychological health and do not differ significantly from those of men officers. Essentially, the findings suggest that policewomen are mentally tough and resilient, and hence quite capable of modulating the demands of police careers.