Gender stereotype is a widespread problem in policing. Stereotype refers to negative views about a specific group of people that influence individual perception and behavior towards them during interactions. Gender stereotype in policing is founded on the high degree of contact and interdependence between women and men thus creating a unique perception about one group. Usually, gender stereotypes are directed toward women include viewing them as weak and unable to maintain order in society. Gender stereotype in policing has a significant negative impact on female law enforcement officers.
Foremost, stereotypes lead to stress among women in policing. Stress develops when women are aware of the negative stereotypes, thus constantly work to prove themselves worthy of occupying their positions. Moreover, women are forced to defend and justify their actions to their male colleagues that perceive them as poor performers (Koenig, 2017). Notably, many women still do not feel like they are adequately equipped to be in the force as compared to men (Wells, Alt, & Alt, 2005). The constant negative comments create a negative work environment for women, and increase their anxiety over their job security. As a result, female police experience significant high levels of stress in their job compared to their male counterparts.
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Secondly, gender stereotypes lead to lower productivity among female officers. Usually, exposure to negative stereotypes affects the officers’ confidence in their abilities in spite of their qualifications (Koenig, 2017). For example, the stereotypes that women officers fail to apply the appropriate force required in different situations affect their self-confidence and they gradually begin to believe they are incompetent in conducting different tasks. Besides, stereotypes negatively affect employees self-esteem, which is an important foundation for good performance. The anxiety leads to impaired concentration, reduced cognitive ability, and increased stress. Consequently, the female police’s performance declines
Stereotype against women in policing leads to disengagement among the officers. Stereotype threatens relationships whereby some officers distance themselves from the assessed tasks because of the feeling that others are not worth the exercise. Disengagement leads to avoidance of some domain; hence male officers and female officers fail to work as a team.
Additionally, gender stereotyping against female officers leads to self-handicapping. Fundamentally, self-handicapping is a psychological strategy that involves finding a reason for failure instead of taking responsibility for the issue. Policing is a dominant male occupied field, and women’s capabilities are often questioned. Therefore, female police may blame their failure on the stereotypes even though the problem is attributable to the lack of the required abilities. Through self-handicapping, the women preserve their self-esteem, but the practice is harmful to the whole department.
Lastly, stereotyping leads to the discrimination of women in the force. Stereotypes held against women influence the type of treatment received in the workplace. Usually, the men treat the women in accordance with their preconceived notions, thus consciously or unconsciously discriminate them in all aspects of their career (Barnes, Beaulieu, & Saxton, 2018). The belief that women cannot cope with different tasks affects the allocation of assignments in the department; for example, women may be forced to do office work instead of conducting investigations in the field. Discrimination may also affect women’s compensation strategy and performance review. Continuous discrimination against women results in poor performance.
In conclusion, it is evident that the stereotyping of women in policing is a significant problem. Stereotypes affect women in many negative ways including discrimination, disengagement, job stress, and lower productivity. Moreover, the stereotypes affect women’s self-esteem and may lead to the formation of self-handicap. These developments negatively affect the whole organization.
References
Barnes, T. D., Beaulieu, E., & Saxton, G. W. (2018). Restoring trust in the police: Why female officers reduce suspicions of corruption. Governance, 31(1), 143-161.
Koenig, A. M. (2018). Comparing Prescriptive and Descriptive Gender Stereotypes About Children, Adults, and the Elderly. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 1086.
Wells, S., Alt, B. S., & Alt, B. L. (2005). Police women: Life with the badge . Greenwood Publishing Group.
