Glass Ceiling and Its Presence Within The NYPD - Article Example

Glass Ceiling And Its Presence Within The NYPD The NYPD has held a record of intense activity that it chose to call or rather, camouflage under the garb of disciplinary action. While the sixties and the seventies were years of re-awakening that finally happened in the nineties, the need to keep the NYPD records straight was what forced the higher authorities to create measures to check gender prejudice and corruptive practices in place. There is no doubt that women who have complained of having faced the glass ceiling have long been satisfied with these measures which promise more dignity to their existence within the NYPD. But have all the issues been sorted out? The present article attempts to take a peek into the history of the glass ceiling as it existed in the New York Police Department, and how women recruits receive a better treatment than their predecessors in who found it hard to make it to the top in the past. The dynamics that have gone in to developing this change is what the he article will try to chart. History Behind The Glass Ceiling Men were firstly considered to be suitable for a physically taxing job, while women were considered the weaker sex who would end up working under the commands of the same male sergeants that they joined the force with. To add to the chagrin when a woman sergeant would be considered the most eligible for the next promotion, the authorities would use tactful recruitment to keep the lady in the same position and hire another senior official to be her boss. The problem has its roots in the eighteenth century when law enforcement bodies led by women came without uniform and was considered a separate entity (Milton, 1972, p.48) that did not operate with the rest of the policing department. It was only by 1968 that women got a chance to enter uniform due to their credibility during training and assessment. There is more to the glass ceiling (Murray, 2010, p.16) observed within the NYPD forces. The real picture was the most difficult back in the sixties and the seventies. The experiences of many women recruits came forward slowly through books and magazine articles that were published in years to come. While governmental reports failed to address the real issues of gender and racial prejudice within the NYPD, the stories published in the print media was what finally forced the authorities and governmental bodies to take action and bring in the necessary changes in the policies that governed recruitment and promotion inside the NYPD, to make sure that women and black cadets got their fair share of authority and were not dominated upon by white men (Butler, 2011, p.147). However, by then the nineties had set in, and while women were breaking through the glass ceiling in most professions, the NYPD only had to give way to the growing power of the informed and skill woman in society. So, what was the exact nature of the glass ceiling that women recruits in the NYPD had to face? Well for starters, we can consider the accounts that came out in media reports of how women candidates were being challenged at each and every step of growth owing to the fact that they were members of the fairer sex (Harris, 2008, p.41). There were reports of women complaining that in order to look appropriate within the NYPD, they would have to work or behave more raunchily than they actually were. A woman ended up saying that she could not figure put how to fit in and thought that if she spoke with a heavier tone and squared her shoulders, maybe her bosses would treat her more importantly than they did. This unfortunate understanding of the NYPD high authorities which was more seen in the 1950s and the 1960s, was more due to the small number of women cops that were present in the NYPD those days. The exact nature of the glass ceiling that these women had to face were a combination of disgust and abhorrence that the male community felt for women cops. A masculine woman would be branded as lesbian even if she had a male partner (Berry, 2000, p.23). The feministic attributes of any woman would be considered as lack or valor and prowess, leading to the cornering of the so-called timid lot. Further on, women recruits in the NYPD also face the same double lock of gender and age. A young woman would be considered inexperienced while a grown up lady would be considered more family oriented and physically unfit. This would get worse in case of black women (Tomm & Hamilton, 1988, p.145). Society has been a major player in enforcing the triple lock barrier on black women who were considered unfit to be talking in feminist terms because according to the white man, only a white lady had the write to talk in tones of highly educated women and address issues like societal changes, feminism, and politics. Women being rough and tough would lead them to be called bitches, while the men enjoy being called authoritative and managerial when they are being rough. The earliest records of glass ceiling in the NYPD also have reports of sexual harassment in which fresh female recruits undergoing training were subjected to lewdness of their male counterparts (who were sometimes superiors) on the pretext of evaluation of the intensity of roughness that they can put up with. Also, general questions of the toughness of the average woman recruit would be raised and in spite of excellent performance during training, they would not be included in shoot out or bomb squads (McArdle & Erzen, 2001, p.145). Was this to keep them safe from the impending adventure or death that they were so ready to embrace? While these factors kept ambition and sense of gender equality away from woman cops nothing could stop them from delivering their duties. This in turn led to growing respect for women sergeants (Berry, 2000, p.176), although there were just a handful of them. While their taking over charge from the male seniors was seen as a victory in breaking through the ‘brass ceiling’, it was also seen that after breaking through one layer, these women sergeants had other layers of glass ceiling to break. Their valor and intellectual quotient would be challenged by men who were working under them and the credit for intelligent placements and expeditions would not be granted to the women bosses. There were numerous cases of promotions granted to only a certain level of authority and the top brass was reserved for the men alone. Policies: Old And New: There are important changes in NYPD policies that can better the scope of the woman cop even today. Although gender prejudice is not present in the lower ranks, amongst the higher officials, ghosts of the malady are still seen. Women are more career-oriented these days and if there is any halt in their growth, it is only natural that they will not let things go smoothly. Below are a few highlights in the policies of the NYPD that need to be revised or have been updated of late. Gender prejudice needs to be removed right from the very beginning of a person’s career in the NYPD and law enforcement forces. This would include fair and equally challenging assessments and recruiting protocols. Gone are the days when women who wanted to be social workers joined the armed forces. Therefore, for every woman recruit who is ready to take up the challenges of the career that she has chosen to grow in (Anderson, 2003, p.22), equal opportunities need to be dished out to both men and women. While women are still being considered different from their male counterparts in NYPD, the recruiting protocol has more or less become equally stringent for both the sexes. This also abolishes the chances of harassment and failed ambitions, something that was rampant in the past, where female recruits left halfway through the trainings due to sexual harassment and gender prejudice. The second most important strategy that will ensure that the NYPD get the best of its female forces in the system is the need to give equally challenging assignments to both male and female cops. This brings down the differentiation bar further more. Throughout the nineties, career oriented policewomen have been found to perform much better than some of their average male colleagues, which has led to their rise in authority, and further attracted more female cops to join law enforcement bodies. Police officers are often called upon to address crimes of domestic violence (Neidig et al, 1992, p.56). In many cases, it has been seen that a male police officer is addressing a domestic violence scenario or crime, that he has himself committed in the past. This brings to fore the cruel reality that police officers are not perfect human beings themselves and are prone to consider the female members of their family as inferiors. What justice can the city of New York expect if the policeman on duty is equal to a convict in mentality? It is therefore, important that women are allowed to the top brass of authority wherein their decisions and points are included in the policies of the NYPD. This would ensure that more and more female cops take charge especially of cases in which women are the victims, like in domestic violence. Conclusion In spite of policies that look to create the right balance, the glass ceiling exists in NYPD and needs to be resolved using respectful and intelligent practices of both the men and the women involved in the NYPD. Often referred to as the “brass ceiling”, women cops never got to make it to the top brass in the NYPD, till recently. Due to the prejudice that surrounded them, most women recruits in the NYPD during the seventies and the eighties had to fight a number of barriers to let the higher authority note that their capabilities were in no way inferior to those of their male counterparts. The phrase, “She is not a cop”, was the biggest dig to the self esteem of a law enforcement official, and with time and the right policies alone, can NYPD women be rescued from the invisible glass ceiling. References Anderson, L. (2003). Women in Law Enforcement, School of Police Staff and Command, Ann Arbor Police Department. Retrieved on April 25, 2014 from: http://www.emich.edu/cerns/downloads/papers/PoliceStaff/Police%20Personnel%20(e.g.,%20Selection,%20%20Promotion)/Women%20in%20Law%20Enforcement.pdf Berry, M.F. (2000). Police Practices and Civil Rights in New York City: A Report of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, New York: DIANE Publishing. Butler, J. (2011). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. London: Routledge. Harris, C.J. (2008). Through the Glass Ceiling: Success Strategies for Female Telecommunications Managers, a Phenomenological Study. Phoenix: ProQuest. McArdle, A. & Erzen, T. (2001). Zero Tolerance: Quality of Life and the New Police Brutality in New York City. New York: NYC Press. Milton, Catherine, (1972), Women in Policing, Washington D.C.: Police Foundation. Murray, R. (2010) Cracking the Highest Glass Ceiling: A Global Comparison of Womens Campaigns for Executive Office. ABC-CLIO Neidig, Russell & Seng, (1992), Inter-spousal Aggression in Law Enforcement Families: A Preliminary Investigation. Police Studies, 15(1), 30-38 Tomm, W. & Hamilton, G. (1988). Gender Bias in Scholarship: The Pervasive Prejudice. Calgary: Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. Read More