Abstract
Women police officers report elevated symptoms of mental disorders when compared to men police officers. Researchers have indicated that the occupational experience of policing differs greatly among men and women. Indeed, police culture is characterized by hegemonic masculinity, which appears to negatively impact both men and women. The current study examined the contrast between the experiences of men and women police officers. Police officers (n = 17; 9 women) in Saskatchewan participated in semi-structured interviews. Thematic network analysis identified themes related to the experience of policing for both men and women police officers. There were six organizing themes identified in relation to the global theme of Gendered Experiences: (1) Discrimination; (2) Sexual Harassment; (3) Motherhood and Parental Leave; (4) Identity; (5) Stereotypically Feminine Attributes; and (6) Hegemonic Masculinity. Pervasive gender norms appear detrimental for both men and women police officers, as well as the communities they serve. The current results, coupled with the emerging disposition for progress expressed by police services, offer opportunities to develop tailored and focused interventions and policies to support police officers.
Highlights
Police officers appear to be at higher risk of several different mental disorders than the general population, arguably because of the nature of their work [1,2,3,4]
Several themes related to gendered experiences of police work were identified
Hegemonic masculinity appeared to be a common thread that pervasively impacted all officers through the police culture
Summary
Police officers appear to be at higher risk of several different mental disorders than the general population, arguably because of the nature of their work [1,2,3,4]. Women and men police officers may have very different experiences of work-related stress, despite having the same occupation. Throughout this paper, we employ the language of gender, rather than sex, to describe participants’ identities. We acknowledge that terms like “male” and “female” are more commonly used to describe officers (i.e., “female police officer”), and we acknowledge the strong interconnection between gender and sex systems. An increasing number of women are choosing to pursue careers in policing [10], which underscores the importance of understanding the potential gender differences that contribute to the mental health vulnerability associated with policing
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