NCJ Number
139452
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 59 Issue: 10 Dated: (October 1992) Pages: 120,122-128
Date Published
1992
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Several Canadian police departments have identified higher rates of attrition among female members as compared to male members.
Abstract
Between 1966 and 1982, the female labor force in Canada grew by 119 percent, while the male labor force increased by only 35 percent. In total, women now comprise 41 percent of the labor force. Despite the fact that more women are working outside the home, they are not automatically relieved of their domestic obligations. Policing is particularly relevant to this finding because a high level of commitment is expected. Job stress may result when demands of the work environment exceed the individual's ability to meet them. Many aspects of police work are inherently stressful. If such stress remains unresolved over an extended period of time, individual police officers may experience a loss of commitment to policing and some may actually leave the police force. In Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police reports higher rates of attrition among female police officers than among males; 16 percent of females employed after September 1975 left the police force by August 1978 compared with 8.7 percent of males. Female attrition was studied in four major Canadian police departments to identify sex-specific factors contributing to attrition. Questionnaires were administered to 118 participants, 50 women and 68 men. An analysis of attitude variables revealed that current police officers were significantly more satisfied than ex-police officers. Ex-police officers reported greater levels of distress than current police officers over the issue of family-career conflict. Women on the police force reported doing a greater share of domestic chores in the home than men. Both men and women agreed on the extent to which it is important for police officers to demonstrate traditional masculine characteristics while on the job. Women, however, felt signficantly less comfortable doing so. Women reported more stress associated with assignment of an incompatible partner, delivery of a death notification, and assignment of new or unfamiliar duties. Men reported more stress associated with political pressures from outside the police department, attempts to move up in the organization, and excessive paperwork. Many women cited family-related concerns as the primary reason for leaving the police force. In contrast, men were more likely to express disillusionment with certain aspects of the job. Study results suggest that both men and women may experience family-career conflict due to social changes that have increased the normative share of responsibility men are expected to assume at home. 19 references and 4 figures