Gender Barriers in British Columbia Policing Agencies: Are Women Staying Out or Failing Out of the Recruitment Process?

The recruitment of women in policing has improved in recent years, yet the institution continues to face criticism of systemic injustices, specifically regarding its reluctance to address its androcentric attitudes and practices. Current research suggests that gender bias in policing presents itself twofold: in preexisting perceptions that deter women from applying and in recruitment requirements that prevent women from being hired. Utilizing grounded theory, the presented research study’s deductive approach explored the literature’s criticisms of policing recruitment and provided supplemental data to assess the "funneling" of women during the three stages of the recruitment process: applicants, viable candidates, and hired officers. The 12 municipal policing agencies in British Columbia, Canada, were canvassed for numerical data in relation to gender across these stages. The candidate stage is reflected by recruits who attempted the provincial Police Officers Physical Ability Test (POPAT), and data were also collected to compare test scores by gender. This study’s findings reflected current research and identified a substantial gap between the number of women who apply versus that of men, as well as notable differences in POPAT pass rates and completion times. These results were examined in relation to the efficacy of recruitment practices and the applicability of the POPAT while traditional standards remain intact, and emphasized the importance of intentional efforts toward reconciliation in fostering equity and inclusion. An unanticipated finding of this study also identified a significant lack of data tracking throughout the recruitment process; data collection and retrieval are essential to effectively measure progress and address systemic gender barriers in policing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]