The appearance of women in law enforcement was/and still a huge sociological milestone for women today. It is all part of women’s up hill battle for equality. Accepting women into law enforcement is such a big deal, because it is showing society, women in positions of power. Women are out of the households and on the streets and in government agencies serving and protecting the citizens. With this being said women have and still are meeting barriers and challenges around every corner, as well as still being very much under represented even today in 2013.
The first woman officer in the police force was Lola Baldwin. In July of 1972 Joanne Pierce and Susan Roley were the first two women special agents sworn into the FBI, and that was only 41 years ago. The sheriff’s office is the biggest law enforcement branch-hiring woman, because they need women officers to work with the women inmates, and in the women prisons. Even with all of this the over all percentage of women in law enforcement remains at 13%-14% and has not increased in recent years.
Besides women still being very much under represented in law enforcement, the women that are in the field have to fight to be there everyday, and face many challenges. Throughout history women have been viewed as the weaker sex, and men are not comfortable with women in power. Women in law enforcement have to endure the jokes and ridicule at their expense. With that said the worst part is the completely unacceptable amounts of sexual harassment by their male coworkers. Woman officers are then faced with the choice of do we just put up with it, or do we go to our authority figures (most likely male) and report the abuse. Some woman officers take things in their own hands by trying to prove themselves by getting sent to the most dangerous high crime areas.
The benefits women bring to the table when it comes to the field of law enforcement are quite useful. Woman officers have been proven to use less physical force against their offenders (Amie, pg.96). Females have always been good at talking, but in the field of law enforcement that skill has been proven to be very useful. Also women tend to be much more empathetic than men, which can be crucial when talking to a hysterical witness, and being able to get through to them to retrieve the necessary information for the case.
The first woman officer in the police force was Lola Baldwin. In July of 1972 Joanne Pierce and Susan Roley were the first two women special agents sworn into the FBI, and that was only 41 years ago. The sheriff’s office is the biggest law enforcement branch-hiring woman, because they need women officers to work with the women inmates, and in the women prisons. Even with all of this the over all percentage of women in law enforcement remains at 13%-14% and has not increased in recent years.
Besides women still being very much under represented in law enforcement, the women that are in the field have to fight to be there everyday, and face many challenges. Throughout history women have been viewed as the weaker sex, and men are not comfortable with women in power. Women in law enforcement have to endure the jokes and ridicule at their expense. With that said the worst part is the completely unacceptable amounts of sexual harassment by their male coworkers. Woman officers are then faced with the choice of do we just put up with it, or do we go to our authority figures (most likely male) and report the abuse. Some woman officers take things in their own hands by trying to prove themselves by getting sent to the most dangerous high crime areas.
The benefits women bring to the table when it comes to the field of law enforcement are quite useful. Woman officers have been proven to use less physical force against their offenders (Amie, pg.96). Females have always been good at talking, but in the field of law enforcement that skill has been proven to be very useful. Also women tend to be much more empathetic than men, which can be crucial when talking to a hysterical witness, and being able to get through to them to retrieve the necessary information for the case.