Captain Chris Monahan conducted this research as part of his doctoral studies at the University of Southern California, drawing on the support of the California Peace Officers Association, Police1 and other law enforcement networks to reach participants. With nearly 600 female officers responding, this study offers one of the broadest looks in recent years at the barriers women encounter in the hiring process.
Grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model, the study explores how personal, organizational and societal environments shape women’s entry into policing. The findings, excerpted here from Monahan’s dissertation The Challenges Women Face Becoming Peace Officers (USC, 2024), highlight systemic and cultural obstacles — and the practical steps agencies can take to reduce them.
By Captain Chris Monahan
A recent study was completed that examined the challenges women face in becoming peace officers. The study used a conceptual framework based on psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model, first introduced in 1979. [1] This model looks at how an individual’s development is influenced by interconnected environmental systems, ranging from the immediate surroundings, such as family, to broad societal structures, such as culture.
All the participants in the study were full-time female peace officers who successfully navigated the hiring process. The following sections explore the key findings that emerged from the study, emphasizing the factors that the 592 participants identified as contributing to their success, as well as those they discussed that may have hindered their progress in becoming peace officers. These findings also address the role of the law enforcement environment, physical fitness standards, mentorship programs and hiring practices.
| RELATED: Fremont Police Department’s strategy to recruit and support women in policing
Recruiting women in policing: Environmental barriers remain high
The study’s data suggest there are several environmental challenges women face in becoming peace officers. Participants indicated that they felt law enforcement leaders generally do not create environments that draw women into becoming peace officers. In an environment that is not welcoming, women who express or feel this sentiment would not be likely to apply for a position with a law enforcement agency.
Survey participants offered several factors that may have deterred them from a career in law enforcement. The study revealed that the two most significant challenges women faced in trying to enter law enforcement were the perception that it is a man’s world and women cannot succeed in that environment, and the difficulty of balancing work against family life. A close third was the perceived difficulty of proving to men that a woman could be a peace officer.
Are physical fitness tests outdated for modern law enforcement?
Survey results indicated that 73% of the participants did not feel it was difficult to complete the physical agility test during the application process. This finding was unexpected and contrary to what many of the participants stated was an initial challenge for women who were considering becoming peace officers. These statements came from participants answering an open-ended question related to the extent they thought the components of the physical agility test measure the physical abilities needed for a career in law enforcement.
Participants did comment that the physical fitness testing requirements may be out of date related to the current job duties of a peace officer and changes in law enforcement procedures. For example, they stated that the solid wall jump, which results in a high failure rate for women, is not considered best practice in current law enforcement related to chasing after a suspect. Officers are now taught to surround the area and conduct a systematic yard search. Participants suggested reevaluating the solid wall jump requirement in an effort to test for job fitness preparedness. A 2011 study found that 72% of women failed the fitness test compared to just 7% of men. [2]
Mentorship and early exposure help women succeed in police hiring
Mentorship also emerged as contributing to female applicants’ success in all aspects of the hiring process. Research from the Police Executive Research Forum in 2018, [3] along with participant responses in this study, indicated that mentors help applicants succeed in becoming peace officers. The study revealed that participants felt strongly about the positive value a mentor brings to a female applicant interested in law enforcement. Over 81% of the participants believed having a law enforcement mentor would help more women navigate the hiring process. Over 57% of the participants stated that the gender of the mentor was not important.
With the 30x30 hiring initiative and the desire to bring more women into law enforcement, applicants may require different levels of mentorship, but a department should be balanced in its mentorship programs to provide the applicant with as much guidance as possible.
Results from the participants clearly indicated that law enforcement leaders may want to focus on expanding Explorer or similar programs such as high school justice classes, police athletic sports programs and youth law enforcement academies. These programs introduce women to law enforcement as a possible profession at an early age. Even more so, based on the study’s data, being exposed to a female peace officer during the application and hiring process is beneficial to increasing the number of women in an agency and decreasing the challenge women face becoming peace officers.
How police departments can improve female recruitment
The study further revealed that 57% of the participants did not think job brochures accurately reflected a career in law enforcement. Many brochures reflect the exciting and dynamic parts of law enforcement, but not necessarily the rigors of shift work, the job stress, family strain and sacrifices that need to be made. Even at a basic level, some representation of female officers would help to entice women to join an agency.
As a specific hiring procedure, participants thought job fairs staffed by peace officers were a beneficial tool and felt that attendance should be widely encouraged for agencies that would like to attract female applicants. NBC San Diego reported in 2021 that job fairs increase exposure to the staff and culture of a department, [4] and participants in this study agreed that executed effectively, job fairs could be an excellent source of preparation for the process of becoming a peace officer. These fairs could offer sample physical agility tests, oral board preparation and application and background assistance.
Agencies seeking to enhance the representation of women will greatly benefit from the research recommendations provided in this study. Relying on past approaches will only perpetuate the current underrepresentation of women in the field. It is clear that without adopting new strategies, the disparity in female representation in policing will not improve. A representative law enforcement agency that incorporates high levels of gender equality in all ranks and throughout the organization will gain the trust of victims and the community. As noted by Sebire in 2020, gender equality in policing is critical for strengthening community trust and achieving sustainable change. [5]
Law enforcement leaders seeking change with the greater inclusion of females in law enforcement will recognize that the recommendations provided here could help them achieve their goals. Several recommendations came out of the study that could increase the number of women in law enforcement and help agencies interested in achieving the 30x30 goal of having 30% of peace officers be women by the year 2030. Having almost 600 participants respond to the study provided valuable information sharing and led to the recommendations for change.
The ability to understand and reform the recruitment process is critical to law enforcement agencies desiring to hire women. Changing applicants’ environmental belief about an organization and reviewing the physical fitness standards required for applicants could result in female applicants expressing more interest in a peace officer position and being more successful in the hiring process. This study identified several key findings that served as a foundation for recommendations that could demonstrate transformational practices law enforcement agencies could utilize to reduce the challenges women face becoming peace officers and aid in increasing diversity in their ranks.
Change is possible and achievable. Given the right mindset and the authority and tools to make a positive impact, eliminating the challenges women face becoming peace officers is only a matter of the desire to do so. The value of female peace officers is clear, their addition to a department is positive and their desire to do the job is evident. The time to eliminate the challenges is now.
Tactical takeaway
Expanding mentorship opportunities, improving recruitment materials and creating early exposure programs can help agencies attract and support more women in policing.
What do you think are the biggest challenges women face in becoming police officers? Share your thoughts below.
References
- Bronfenbrenner U. The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; 1979.
- Bissett D, Bissett J, Snell C. (2011). Physical agility tests and fitness standards: perceptions of law enforcement officers. Police Practice and Research, 13(3), 208–223.
- Police Executive Research Forum. The Workforce Crisis, and What Police Agencies Are Doing About It. Washington, DC: PERF; 2018.
- Jarin A. San Diego Police Department hosts first women’s hiring expo. NBC San Diego. August 21, 2021.
- Sebire J. Why gender equality in policing is important for achieving United Nations sustainable development goals 5 and 16. Int J Crime Justice Soc Democr. 2020;9(1):80-85.
About the author
Chris Monahan is a captain with the Piedmont Police Department in California. Prior to that, he spent over 27 years at the San Jose Police Department working in a variety of assignments. He is also the current president of the California Peace Officers Association. Captain Monahan received his doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership from USC in 2024 and this article is an excerpt from his dissertation. Reach him at cmonaha@usc.edu.
| WATCH: How women can rise (and thrive) in law enforcement