Job Satisfaction on Women Policing Professional

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Professor’s Name

Course Tittle

Date

Option B

Women Job Satisfaction in Policing

In this paper, I will talk about the factors that lead to job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction for women professionals in the policing services. I will focus on police officers since their functions are known as policing. The number of women in the police department is small compared to that of men, but it has been growing significantly. In these days, people have paid more attention to having more women in the police sector, which has created a need to recruit new female officers, train and promote the existing officers. There are several professional attributes that women have, and they are valuable to the law enforcement department. These attributes are the reason why policymakers are being encouraged to balance the number of men and women in the policing sector. When women are allowed to participate equally in all police roles and then maintain law and order will be reflected and responded to the society. In this essay, the satisfaction and dissatisfaction of women in Police and the innovation that will bring change will be discussed.

Satisfying Factors

Job satisfaction has gained popularity ranging from researchers to practitioners in various disciplines. According to many employed individuals, job satisfaction can be termed as consent with their working environment. A worker’s happiness can tell how satisfied the employee is, and therefore a happy worker means they are confident with their job. An employee’s satisfaction is vital since it has a significant impact on employee attendance, productivity, and health. The previous study supposes that the factors influencing women’s employee satisfaction are; salary, flexible work, job security, motivators, managerial ranks, and stress.

Salary has been a big concern for women in policing, and in most cases, women tend to get a lower salary than their male colleagues. A survey conducted by the women’s policy research showed no difference in the amount of salary earned by male and female police officers. Women have been underestimated in what they can do in the labor industry, thus prompting many employers to underpay them. In the police department, the job description of a police officer is the same regardless of their gender, and therefore the salary should not vary. Equal pay shows that the police department does not discriminate against employees according to their genders, and this is one reason why more women are willing to join the law enforcement force.

Another factor promoting women in the police department is job flexibility. Most police departments worldwide offer their employees job flexibility, which helps workers balance their work life and personal life. Availability of leave days and maternity leaves for women in the police department has significantly been of great help to women in this sector. Jobs that offer women maternity and leave days tend to have more women employees, and they find satisfaction in what they do. Lack of a flexible job is one factor that has led to few women in the labor force. Women play a vital role in society, like taking care of families, and for them to balance work life and personal life, flexible jobs are essential.

Dissatisfying Factors

Many factors encourage women to join the police force, but that does not mean women in the police department don’t find their job dissatisfying—one of the factors that most women in police face is discrimination. The discrimination can either be from people within the work department or outside. Discrimination at a workplace can be from seniors who fail to give women equal opportunities as men. Most leaders in the police department are male, meaning that women continue to be undervalued when it comes to leadership (Meeussen et al., 2017). Women in the police department, in most cases, get abused by male colleagues because they think women are weak, and sometimes they face brutality from male lawbreakers.

Sexual harassment is another factor that discourages most women from being members of the law enforcement force. Sexual harassment can be from colleagues or other individuals in their line of work. Despite the number of women in the police force increases, women remain victims of discrimination and prejudice. Women’s physical strength is less than that of men, which is one of the significant factors that promote sexual harassment of women. In some cases, female police officers get intimidated and sexually harassed by their male colleagues, like their seniors who demand sex. Most police seniors have abused their power and used it for their gain and to discriminate against the women in the police force, which has discouraged women from being in this department.

Interventions that Might Make a Favorable Difference for Women

Representation of women in the police force is crucial because the voice of women in society and the police force will be well represented. Lawmakers and policymakers have to develop laws and policies that protect women’s rights in the police department. In the case of meritocracy in the police department, promotion should be due to the merits of an individual and not gender-based. Several departments in the world have worked to ensure gender parity, and from their experiences, several lessons have been drawn. Historically, lawsuits have been used to bring about change in different departments, and it was concluded that it is not easy to bring change to people who are not ready for change. Therefore, government officials and other political departments need to mandate equal treatment of women in Police and make policies that protect women from discrimination.

Another intervention is for all police departments to implement strict policies that address gender discrimination, Biasness, and sexual harassment. The departments should offer training to police officers on matters concerning gender equality and sexual harassment. Strict disciplinary measures should also be set for cases where the established policies are broken. Friendly family policies should also be adopted in the police force, where women are allowed to balance their work life and personal life. The family policies will cover marriage, maternity leaves, childcare, and off days. Since the police department is male-dominated, they should work to ensure that they offer the support of their female counterparts (Jones, 2017). The help will promote a unified police department that is ready to protect society.

References

Jones, J. (2017). How can mentoring support women in a male-dominated workplace? A case study of the UK police force. Palgrave Communications, 3(1), 1-11.

Rabe-Hemp, C. E. (2019). The Status of women Police Across the Globe. Women Policing across the Globe: Shared Challenges and Successes in the Integration of Women Police Worldwide, 3.

Veldman, J., Meeussen, L., Van Laar, C., & Phalet, K. (2017). Women (do not) belong here: gender-work identity conflict among female police officers. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 130.