Addressing barriers to promotion for female officers in municipal policing in Canada

Female police officers face numerous barriers to promotion in municipal policing in Canada. For a variety of reasons, including that policing remains male-dominated, there are very few female officers in higher ranking positions in municipal police agencies in Canada. With few female leaders comes a lack of female role models, mentors, and the female influence in decision making at executive levels. This has had a broad effect on how police agencies respond to the communities they serve. This research summarized the value women bring to the policing profession and explored the barriers to promotion identified in the literature that have affected the number of women in senior leadership roles in Canada. The empirical data collected in this study is derived from surveys completed by 413 police officers working in several municipal police organizations in Canada. The intent of the survey was to explore the real and perceived barriers female officers experience in promotion to higher ranks. The results of the survey offered some important findings, including that barriers to promotion for women still exist in Canadian municipal policing. Recommendations are made suggesting ways that police leaders could use the information derived from this research to address real and perceived barriers to promotion for female officers in their respective policing agencies.