Chief Penny Harrington, the first woman chief of a major American police department — the Portland (Oregon) Police Bureau — and co-founder of the National Center for Women & Policing.
When Harrington started as an officer with the Portland Police Bureau in 1964, there were only 12 women in the department. She faced widespread challenges over the course of her career, ranging from blatant harassment and sexism to many iterations of body armor that did not fit or protect women’s bodies. Although many of the challenges that Harrington and other women faced still exist, her remarks illuminated some of the progress that women in policing have made over the past few decades. Although attendees were heartened by the progress that has been made, they noted that, in many ways, “we’re still fighting the same fight that she fought then.” (P3)
Barrier
Law enforcement attendees spoke at length about the barriers they had personally faced over the course of their careers, such as the “boys club,” adverse or hostile environments, explicit and subtle harassment, sexism, skewed physical fitness assessments, double standards, and a lack of support and opportunity. (P4)
Many of the barriers to women in policing are not specific to policing; rather, they are reflective of larger societal issues and will take time and commitment to improve. One officer said citizens would ask when the “real police” would arrive when she and her female partner responded to a call. “That’s a broader cultural mindset barrier, not internal to the police department,” […]“We can talk about this as a policing problem, but this is an endemic problem in our society. (P4)
Several officers said they nearly left law enforcement because of this. “No one valued me on the job,” […] “We teach police officers that everything is a threat. For women, not only can they not trust the people they’re policing, they also can’t trust the people who are supposed to have their backs. This is incredibly damaging to women.” (P8)
Some attendees agreed that harassment and sexism are normalized to the extent that, often, only the most egregious cases are reported. “I don’t think of myself as harassed, ever,” said one officer, “but a lot of the things I experience would be considered harassment in another field.” (P8)
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