Who Dreams of Badges? Gendered Self-Concept and Policing Career Aspirations

Abstract

National Institute of Justice’s Policing Research Plan (2017–2022) highlights the need to understand factors that attract diverse candidates. We explored whether college students had ever considered policing and found men were significantly more likely than women to contemplate policing careers. Further, we found higher levels of masculinity were associated with greater odds of policing aspirations; the relationship between gender and aspirations was fully mediated by masculine self-concept. Although men typically reported higher masculinity scores, within-gender analyses indicated that masculinity was important for both men and women. Our findings suggest the continued association of masculinity with policing may undercut efforts to recruit a representative workforce.

Keywords

policing gender roles masculinity police culture women in policing aspirations future orientation

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Aiello

M. F.

(2014). Policing the masculine frontier: Cultural criminological analysis of the gendered performance of policing. Crime, Media, Culture, 10(1), 59–79. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741659013502351

Archbold

C. A.

Schulz

D. M.

(2012). Research on women in policing: A look at the past, present and future. Sociology Compass, 6(9), 694–706. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9020.2012.00501.x

Bem

S. L.

(1974). The measurement of psychological androgyny. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42(2), 155–162. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0036215

Bem

S. L.

(1981). Gender schema theory: A cognitive account of sex typing. Psychological Review, 88(4), 354–364. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.88.4.354

Bloch

P. B.

Anderson

(1974). Policewomen on patrol: Final report. Urban Institute.

Boni

(2002). Contemporary issues facing women in policing. (138.3). ACPR.

Brown

E. R.

Diekman

A. B.

(2010). What will i be? Exploring gender differences in near and distant possible selves. Sex Roles, 63(7–8), 568–579. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9827-x

Brown

(2007). From cult of masculinity to smart macho: Gender perspectives on police occupational culture. In Police occupational culture: New debates and directions (pp. 189–210). Elsevier.

Brunson

R. K.

(2007). “Police don’t like black people”: African-american young men’s accumulated police experiences. Criminology & Public Policy, 6(1), 71–101. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9133.2007.00423.x

10.

Cambareri

J. F.

Kuhns

J. B.

(2018). Perceptions and perceived challenges associated with a hypothetical career in law enforcement: Differences among male and female college students. Police Quarterly, 21(3), 335–357. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611118760862

11.

Carr

P. J.

Napolitano

Keating

(2007). We never call the cops and here is why: A qualitative examination of legal cynicism in three philadelphia neighborhoods. Criminology, 45(2), 445–480. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2007.00084.x

12.

Chambers

Kashefpakdel

E. T.

Rehill

Percy

(2018). Exploring the career aspirations of primary school children from around the world: Drawing the future. https://www.educationandemployers.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/DrawingTheFuture.pdf

13.

Clinkinbeard

S. S.

Rief

R. M.

(2020). Four steps to bringing more women into policing. Police Chief, April.

14.

Connell

R. W.

Messerschmidt

J. W.

(2005). Hegemonic masculinity: Rethinking the concept. Gender & Society, 19(6), 829–859. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243205278639

15.

Copple

(2017). Law enforcement recruitment in the 21st century: Forum proceedings. Office of Community Oriented.

16.

Cordner

(2011). Stuck on a plateau?: Obstacles to recruitment, selection, and retention of women police. Police Quarterly, 14(3), 207–226. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611111413990

17.

Correll

S. J.

(2001). Gender and the career choice process: The role of biased self-assessments. American Journal of Sociology, 106(6), 1691–1730. https://doi.org/10.1086/321299

18.

Correll

S. J.

(2004). Constraints into preferences: Gender, status, and emerging career aspirations. American Sociological Review, 69(1), 93–113. https://doi.org/10.1177/000312240406900106

19.

Corsianos

(2009). Policing and gendered justice: Examining the possibilities. Toronto Press.

20.

DeJong

(2004). Gender differences in officer attitude and behavior: Providing comfort to citizens. Women & Criminal Justice, 15(3–4), 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1300/j012v15n03_01

21.

Eccles

J. S.

(1994). Understanding women’s educational and occupational choices: Applying the eccles et al model of achievement-related choices. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 18(4), 585–609. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1994.tb01049.x

22.

Ellemers

(2018). Gender stereotypes. Annual Review of Psychology, 69(1), 275–298. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-122216-011719

23.

Emsley

Liu

(2013). Paramed: Stata module to perform causal mediation analysis using parametric regression models. https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:boc:bocode:s457581

24.

Evetts

(2000). Analysing change in women’s careers: Culture, structure and action dimensions. Gender, Work & Organization, 7(1), 57–67. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0432.00093

25.

Fielding

(1994). Cop canteen culture. In Newburn

Stanko

E. A.

(Eds.), Just boys doing business: Men, masculinities, and crime (pp. 46–63). Routledge.

26.

Fingerhut

(2017). Deep racial, partisan divisions in americans’ views of police officers. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/09/15/deep-racial-partisan-divisions-in-americans-views-of-police-officers/

27.

Fiske

S. T.

(1998). Stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. In Gilbert

D. T.

Fiske

S. T.

Lindsey

(Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (Vol. 2, 4th ed., pp. 357–411). McGraw-Hill.

28.

Foley

P. F.

Guarneri

Kelly

M. E.

(2008). Reasons for choosing a police career: Changes over two decades. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 10(1), 2–8. https://doi.org/10.1350/ijps.2008.10.1.2

29.

Greene

B. A.

DeBacker

T. K.

(2004). Gender and orientations toward the future: Links to motivation. Educational Psychology Review, 16(2), 91–120.

30.

Hagan

Shedd

Payne

M. R.

(2005). Race, ethnicity, and youth perceptions of criminal injustice. American Sociological Review, 70(3), 381–407. https://doi.org/10.1177/000312240507000302

31.

Herbert

(1998). Police subculture reconsidered. Criminology, 36(2), 343–369. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1998.tb01251.x

32.

Hurwitz

Peffley

(2005). Explaining the great racial divide: Perceptions of fairness in the U.S. Criminal justice system. The Journal of Politics, 67(3), 762–783. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2508.2005.00338.x

33.

Hyland

S. S.

Davis

(2019). Local police departments, 2016: Personnel. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/lpd16p.pdf

34.

Jarman

Blackburn

R. M.

Racko

(2012). The dimensions of occupational gender segregation in industrial countries. Sociology, 46(6), 1003–1019. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038511435063

35.

Jolicoeur

J. R.

Grant

(2018). Form seeking function: An exploratory content analysis evaluation of the imagery contained in law enforcement agency police officer recruitment brochures. The Police Journal, 91(4), 339–355. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032258x17740318

36.

Jones

J. M.

(2014). Urban blacks in U.S. Have little confidence in police. https://news.gallup.com/poll/179909/urban-blacks-little-confidence-police.aspx

37.

Jones

J. M.

(2015). In U.S., confidence in police lowest in 22 years. https://news.gallup.com/poll/183704/confidence-police-lowest-years.aspx

38.

Kao

(2000). Group images and possible selves among adolescents: Linking stereotypes to expectations by race and ethnicity. Sociological Forum, 15(3), 407–430. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007572209544

39.

Kemmelmeier

Oyserman

(2001). Gendered influence of downward social comparisons on current and possible selves. Journal of Social Issues, 57(1), 129–148.

40.

Kluch

(2018). Race, income, gender, and safety in America. https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/236972/race-income-gender-safety-america.aspx

41.

Knox

Funk

Elliott

Bush

E. G.

(2000). Gender differences in adolescents’ possible selves. Youth & Society, 31(3), 287–309. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X00031003002

42.

Konrad

A. M.

Ritchie

J. E.

Lieb

Corrigall

(2000). Sex differences and similarities in job attribute preferences: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 126(4), 593–641. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.126.4.593

43.

Lester

(1983). Why do people become police officers: A study of reasons and their predictions of success. Journal of Police Science & Administration, 11(2), 170–174.

44.

Lips

H. M.

(2004). The gender gap in possible selves: Divergence of academic self-views among high school and university students. Sex Roles, 50(5–6), 357–371. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SERS.0000018891.88889.c9

45.

Loftus

(2010). Police occupational culture: Classic themes, altered times. Policing and Society, 20(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439460903281547

46.

Lonsway

K. A.

(2006). Are we there yet? The progress of women in one large law enforcement agency. Women & Criminal Justice, 18(1–2), 1–48. https://doi.org/10.1300/J012v18n01_01

47.

Lonsway

K. A.

Carrington

Aguirre

Wood

Harrington

Smeal

Spillar

(2002). Equality denied: The status of women in policing: 2001. http://womenandpolicing.com/PDF/2002_Status_Report.pdf

48.

Lonsway

K. A.

Moore

Harrington

Smeal

Spillar

(2003). Hiring and retaining more women: The advantages to law enforcement agencies. http://womenandpolicing.com/pdf/newadvantagesreport.pdf

49.

Lord

V. B.

Friday

P. C.

(2003). Choosing a career in police work: A comparative study between applicants for employment with a large police department and public high school students. . Police Practice & Research, 4(1), 63–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/1561426032000059196

50.

Low

K. S. D.

Yoon

Roberts

B. W.

Rounds

(2005). The stability of vocational interests from early adolescence to middle adulthood: A quantitative review of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 131(5), 713–737. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.131.5.713

51.

Markus

Nurius

(1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41(9), 954–969.

52.

Martin

S. E.

(1979). Policewomen and policewomen: Occupational role dilemmas and choices of female officers. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 7, 314–323.

53.

Martin

S. E.

(1999). Police force or police service? Gender and emotional labor. Annals of the American Academy of Political & Social Science, 561(1), 111–126. https://doi.org/10.1177/000271629956100108

54.

Martin

S. E.

Jurik

N. C.

(1996). Doing justice, doing gender: Women in law and criminal justice occupations. Sage Publications, Inc.

55.

Mehmetoglu

Jakobsen

T. G.

(2017). Applied statistics using Stata: A guide for the social sciences. Sage Publications, Inc.

56.

Milton

(1972). Women in policing. Police Foundation.

57.

Morash

Greene

J. R.

(1986). Evaluating women on patrol: A critique of contemporary wisdom. Evaluation Review, 10(2), 230–255. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193841X8601000205

58.

Morash

Haarr

R. N.

(2012). Doing, redoing, and undoing gender: Variation in gender identities of women working as police officers. Feminist Criminology, 7(1), 3–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557085111413253

59.

Newman

M. A.

Guy

M. E.

Mastracci

S. H.

(2009). Beyond cognition: Affective leadership and emotional labor. Public Administration Review, 69(1), 6–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2008.01935.x

60.

National Institute of Justice. (2017). Policing strategic research plan: 2017-2022. National Institute of Justice.

61.

Nurmi

J.-E.

(1991). How do adolescents see their future? A review of the development of future orientation and planning. Developmental Review, 11(1), 1–59.

62.

O’brien

R. M.

(2007). A caution regarding rules of thumb for variance inflation factors. Quality & Quantity, 41, 673–690.

63.

Oyserman

Fryberg

(2006). The possible selves of diverse adolescents: Content and function across gender, race and national origin. In Dunkel

Kerpelman

(Eds.), Possible selves: Theory, research, and application. Nova.

64.

Paoline

E. A.

III . (2003). Taking stock: Toward a richer understanding of police culture. Journal of Criminal Justice, 31(3), 199–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0047-2352(03)00002-3

65.

Parks

R. B.

Mastrofski

S. D.

DeJong

Gray

M. K.

(1999). How officers spend their time with the community. Justice Quarterly, 16(3), 483–518. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418829900094241

66.

PERF. (2019). The workforce crisis, and what police agencies are doing about it. https://www.policeforum.org/assets/WorkforceCrisis.pdf

67.

Peterson

R. A.

(2001). On the use of college students in social science research: Insights from a second-order meta-analysis. Journal of Consumer Research, 28(3), 450–461. https://doi.org/10.1086/323732

68.

Peterson

R. A.

Merunka

D. R.

(2014). Convenience samples of college students and research reproducibility. Journal of Business Research, 67(5), 1035–1041. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.08.010

69.

Pew Research Center. (2017). Behind the badge: Amid protests and calls for reform, how police view their jobs, key issues and recent fatal encounters between blacks and police. https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2017/01/11/police-views-public-views/

70.

Poteyeva

Sun

I. Y.

(2009). Gender differences in police officers’ attitudes: Assessing current empirical evidence. Journal of Criminal Justice, 37(5), 512–522. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2009.07.011

71.

Prokos

Padavic

(2002). ‘There oughtta be a law against bitches’: Masculinity lessons in police academy training. Gender, Work & Organization, 9(4), 439–459. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0432.00168

72.

Rabe-Hemp

C. E.

(2008). Female officers and the ethic of care: Does officer gender impact police behaviors? Journal of Criminal Justice, 36(5), 426–434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2008.07.001

73.

Rabe-Hemp

C. E.

(2009). Policewomen or policewomen? Doing gender and police work. Feminist Criminology, 4(2), 114–129. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557085108327659

74.

Raganella

A. J.

White

M. D.

(2004). Race, gender, and motivation for becoming a police officer: Implications for building a representative police department. Journal of Criminal Justice, 32(6), 501–513. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2004.08.009

75.

Rhodes

T. N.

(2015). Officers and school settings:Examining the influence of the school environment on officer roles and job satisfaction. Police Quarterly, 18(2), 134–162. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611114559038

76.

Rogers

L. O.

Yang

Way

Weinberg

S. L.

Bennet

(2020). ‘We’re supposed to look like girls, but act like boys’: Adolescent girls’ adherence to masculinity norms. Journal of Research on Adolescence 30(Suppl 1): 270–285. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12475

77.

Sandberg

D. E.

Ehrhardt

A. A.

Ince

S. E.

Meyer-Bahlburg

H. F. L.

(1991). Gender differences in children’s and adolescents’ career aspirations: A follow-up study. Journal of Adolescent Research, 6(3), 371–386. https://doi.org/10.1177/074355489163007

78.

Schuck

A. M.

(2014). Female representation in law enforcement: The influence of screening, unions, incentives, community policing, calea, and size. Police Quarterly, 17(1), 54–78. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611114522467

79.

Schuck

A. M.

(2017). Female officers and community policing: Examining the connection between gender diversity and organizational change. Women & Criminal Justice, 27(5), 341–362. https://doi.org/10.1080/08974454.2017.1303659

80.

Schuck

A. M.

Rabe-Hemp

(2005). Women police: The use of force by and against female officers. Women & Criminal Justice, 16(4), 91–117. https://doi.org/10.1300/J012v16n04-05

81.

Schulze

(2012). The masculine yardstick of physical competence: U.S. Police academy fitness tests. Women & Criminal Justice, 22(2), 89–107. https://doi.org/10.1080/08974454.2012.662117

82.

Seklecki

Paynich

(2007). A national survey of female police officers: An overview of findings. Police Practice and Research, 8(1), 17–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/15614260701217941

83.

Shelley

T. C.

Morabito

Tobin-Gurley

(2011). Gendered institutions and gender roles: Understanding the experiences of women in policing. Criminal Justice Studies, 24(4), 351–367. https://doi.org/10.1080/1478601X.2011.625698

84.

Sichel

J. L.

Friedman

L. N.

Quint

J. C.

Smith

M. E.

(1978). Women on patrol: A pilot study of police performance in New York City. National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice.

85.

Silvestri

(2007). “Doing” police leadership: Enter the “new smart macho”. Policing and Society, 17(1), 38–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439460601124130

86.

Silvestri

(2018). Disrupting the “heroic” male within policing: A case of direct entry. Feminist Criminology, 13(3), 309–328. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557085118763737

87.

Smith

B. W.

Novak

K. J.

Frank

(2001). Community policing and the work routines of street-level officers. Criminal Justice Review, 26(1), 17–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/073401680102600103

88.

Spence

J. T.

Helmreich

Stapp

(1975). Ratings of self and peers on sex role attributes and their relation to self-esteem and conceptions of masculinity and femininity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32(1), 29–39. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0076857

89.

Steinberg

Graham

O’Brien

Woolard

Cauffman

Banich

(2009). Age differences in future orientation and delay discounting. Child Development, 80(1), 28–44.

90.

Stewart

A. J.

McDermott

(2004). Gender in psychology. Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 519–544. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141537

91.

Tarng

M.-Y.

Hsieh

C.-H.

(2001). Personal background and reasons for choosing a career in policing an empirical study of police. Journal of Criminal Justice, 29(1), 45–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0047-2352(00)00075-1

92.

Todak

(2017). The decision to become a police officer in a legitimacy crisis. Women & Criminal Justice, 27(4), 250–270. https://doi.org/10.1080/08974454.2016.1256804

93.

Tyler

T. R.

(2005). Policing in black and white: Ethnic group differences in trust and confidence in the police. Police Quarterly, 8(3), 322–342. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611104271105

94.

Unger

R. K.

(1979). Toward a redefinition of sex and gender. American Psychologist, 34(11), 1085–1094. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.34.11.1085

95.

VanderWeele

Vansteelandt

(2013). Mediation analysis with multiple mediators. Epidemiologic Methods, 2(1), 95–115. https://doi.org/10.1515/em-2012-0010

96.

Warren

P. Y.

(2008). Perceptions of police disrespect during vehicle stops: A race-based analysis. Crime & Delinquency, 57(3), 356–376. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128708316177

97.

Weitzer

Tuch

S. A.

(2006). Race and policing in america: Conflict and reform. Cambridge University Press.

98.

White

M. D.

Cooper

J. A.

Saunders

Raganella

A. J.

(2010). Motivations for becoming a police officer: Re-assessing officer attitudes and job satisfaction after six years on the street. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38(4), 520–530. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2010.04.022

99.

Wiecko

F. M.

(2010). Research note: Assessing the validity of college samples: Are students really that different? Journal of Criminal Justice, 38(6), 1186–1190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2010.09.007

100.

Zagenczyk

T. J.

Murrell

A. J.

(2006). The gendered nature of role model status: An empirical study. Career Development International, 11(6), 560–578. https://doi.org/10.1108/13620430610692953

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.14 MB