gender Essay -- essays research papers

Introduction Women have come a long way in the area of the workforce in the past one hundred years. If you were to look back one hundred years ago, you would never see a woman working outside of the home. Society had the idea that a woman's place was in the home cooking, cleaning, reproducing and care giving. They had the idea that there was no place for her in the workforce because that was a place for only men. Yes, it is true that some people may still have this view today but a lot of things have changed over the years. Women are no longer only restricted to working in the home doing domestic chores. However, this did not come easily but rather after many years of fighting to get the same rights as men. Slowly women started to enter the workforce fulfilling roles such as secretaries and nurses. It was jobs like these that were viewed as woman's jobs and you would never see a woman doctor, fireman or police officer. Women were still being marginalized into a certain category of jobs. However, women continued their fight and today they fulfill such roles as doctors, fireman and police officers. In this essay, we will focus on the entry of women into the police force. We will not only look at what it took for women to get into the police force but also what types of roles they play in the police force today. In addition, we will look at what roles women hope to play in the police force in the future. By doing this we hope to show you how far women have come in the area of police work in the past one hundred years and how far they will still have to go. History of Women In The Police Force In the past, policing and women were never associated with each other. Policing was a male dominated profession which women were not welcomed to join. However, these biases and unfair beliefs that women were not welcomed in the police force began to change slowly. In the nineteen tens and twenties woman began to be employed by the police forces. Women's social groups began to lobby that women should be able to be employed by police forces. With all of the support groups that women were involved in, pressure began to mount for there to be a representation of women in male dominated police forces. The first women police officer in Canada was sworn in the Vancouver police force in 1912. "1912: Vancouver - Mrs. Lurancy Harris and Miss Miller were sworn in as 4th clas... ...rk. This includes such jobs as police chiefs, police sergeants and deputy police chiefs. However, they will only be able to prove themselves to the public and the police force if they are given the same chances as men to obtain these positions! Reference Page Cohn, Alvin W. 1978. The Future of Policing. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage publications Inc. Hernandez, E. 1982. Females in Law Enforcement. Femininity, Competence, Attraction, and Work Acceptance. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 9, 1:13-34 Kearney, Katherine G. White & Thomas. Men & Women at Work LeBeuf, Marcel-Eugene & McLean, Julia. 1997. Women in Policing in Canada: Beyond the Year 2000-Its Challenges. Ottawa, On: Canadian Police College. Lunneborg, Patricia W. 1989. Women Police Officers. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C Thomas Publishers. Martin, Susan Ehrlich, and Jurik, Nancy C. Doing Justice, Doing Gender. Sage Publications "RCMP Having Trouble Getting and Keeping Female Mounties". Canadian Business & Culture . pg.11. August, 1996. "Survey Suggests Majority of Female Mounties Have Been Sexually Harassed". Canadian Business & Culture. pg.26. September, 1996.