What Works

A succinct and clear introduction to the evidence behind 30×30, our mission, and how policing agencies are partnering with us to advance women in policing.

Decades of work from experts on policing, workplace equity, and organizational efficacy has shown that gender diversity greatly benefits organizations. This guide aggregates research on the “why” behind advancing women in policing, as well as the “how.”

We have examined more than 100 pieces of social scientific literature that cover existing practices in policing, 25 of which specifically address existing barriers and potential avenues to recruit and assess potential women officers more effectively. This summary synthesizes their findings and provides recommended courses of action from the 30×30 Pledge.

Explicit gender discrimination, a lack of institutional support, and a male-dominated culture in police departments all contribute to why women officers leave departments—and perpetuate the feedback loop of gender disparities in the police force. This paper analyzes these findings and explores ways to address the structural and cultural inequities that lead to the gender gap in the police force.

Women officers when promoted to positions of power, often positively influence policy and culture to result in better outcomes for community members, and public safety as a whole. Yet despite these benefits, women are severely under-represented in policing leadership, and similar issues that prevent women officers from advancing their careers appear across agencies. We’ll discuss the most common barriers and their solutions here.

Developed by the National Center for Women & Policing, this manual is designed to help agencies examine their policies and procedures and to identify and remove obstacles to hiring and retaining sworn and civilian women employees at all levels within the organization. The guide also provides a list of resources for agencies to use when planning or implementing changes to their current policies and procedures.

Published by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) within the U.S. Department of Justice, this guide provides an overview of policy components and promising practices that can improve the experience of officers and their families in law enforcement.

This is a guidebook published by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) that outlines the current resources for law enforcement agencies about how to promote a diverse workforce through various staffing mechanisms.

The Office of the Inspector General for the City of Chicago released an evaluation of the demographic impacts of the Chicago Police Department’s hiring practices. The article explores the demographic differences in attrition rates of officers during the hiring process and if there is a certain stage within the process that may have an impact on the demographic composition of the officer candidate pool.

The Research Triangle Institute released a report on how job descriptions can play a key role in socializing potential applicants to law enforcement agency culture and how it relates to gender inclusivity.

Captain Julie Scribner from the Vermont State Police discusses how the agency worked to ensure safe spaces for nursing mothers when returning to the work place. (A transcript of this conversation is available via the “Download Resource” bottom below.)

Officer Terry Cherry from the Charleston Police Department discusses how to use a data-driven approach to drive, assess, and refine recruitment to reach more diverse applicants.  (A transcript of this conversation is available via the “Download Resource” bottom below.)

“We are the 28” is an initiative launched by the Madison Police Department in January 2020 to highlight the nationally significant number of women MPD commissioned personnel (28% of the department!). This video is an example of a recruitment campaign that centers intersectionality in its approach.

University of Colorado Police Department:

This document provides key takeaways by Carmen Best, Sylvia Moir, Kathleen O’Toole, and Sue Rahr from the 30×30 March Webinar: Female Trailblazers. It highlights ways individual officers, agencies, and leaders can improve in various areas including career development and gender-based challenges.

Agencies are required to report every six months across two years on the successes and challenges of implementing the 30×30 Pledge.

This document lists the reporting questions for the 6, 12, 18, and 24-month 30×30 agency reporting periods.

This Excel spreadsheet template, created by the Crime and Justice Institute, is a tool to assist agencies in collecting and organizing demographic data required for reporting. We strongly encourage pledged agencies to utilize this template, not only for 30×30 reporting, but to also internally track their progress.

We have specific resources to support agencies in fulfilling the pledge requirements related to surveys and focus groups. This is the survey that we distributed through the University of Alabama at Birmingham.  We’re encouraging agencies to pull from this version and to administer using publicly available platforms like Google Forms or Survey Monkey. Agencies are encouraged to tailor the template to the questions most relevant to them. We hosted a webinar exploring early results from agencies who already administered the survey. 

There is no one universal experience for women in law enforcement, each woman’s individual intersection of identities defines her personal experience. This survey will help SPD to better identify and address the obstacles that women face in recruitment and throughout their careers.

Focus groups are a way for agencies to create a dedicated space and time for employees to share their experiences, and can generate a wealth of information to help identify areas for improving the experiences of women officers. This toolkit, developed by Dr. Natalie Todak of the University of Alabama at Birmingham is designed to help agencies carry out their own in-house focus groups. We also held a webinar on leading focus groups.

The purpose of the research was to examine challenges women face in policing that may serve as barriers to the recruitment of other women; identifying challenges is crucial for developing strategies that attract women to the profession.

The purpose of the research was to examine whether policewomen have carved out their place and developed a sense of belonging in the profession, or whether they are faced with disrespect, self-doubt, and pressure to adopt constructed gender roles.

The paper explores the prevalence of mentorship opportunities for women police officers, the nature of mentorship relationships, and their perceived effect on women’s career advancement. Design/methodology/approach – Data consist of online surveys (N 5 924) with women police officers working in the United States. A content analysis of emergent themes from one open ended survey question was conducted.

While women have made strides on patrol in many agencies, elite units have not witnessed the same progress. In this study, we interviewed 32 policewomen from across the United States who defied the odds and cultural perceptions of “appropriate” roles for women by earning positions on elite specialty units (i.e., SWAT, K9, motorcycles, and bomb units). Most were the only women on their units and half were the first in their agencies’ histories to enter that space. Participants’ descriptions of department, community, and team members’ responses to their selection are analyzed. Our focus on women who have broken the most formidable gender barriers in law enforcement allows us to better understand the continued exclusion of women and offer recommendations for increasing gender diversity throughout policing.

Women are significantly underrepresented among police supervisors, middle managers, and leaders in the United States. To investigate this problem, the current study examines challenges faced by women officers as they pursue promotions. Narrative data from 226 women who earned promotions in U.S. policing are analyzed using a content analysis of responses to an open-ended survey question. Emergent themes reflected gender bias within the promotions process and, more broadly, in the organizational culture of participants’ agencies that impact promotions. Findings support the characterization of policing as a gendered occupation with a culture that views and supports men as more competent leaders.