One of Sir Robert Peel’s underlying principles of policing is “that police services should reflect the diversity of the communities they police.” (Whitelaw & Parent, 2014) Today, diversity has been known to play a key component in the modern-day policing world. There has been a great deal of focus put on recruiting officers who come from various ethnic origins, diverse sexual orientations, and recruiting more female officers. However, based on history, specifically in regards to women in policing, this topic has not always been positively portrayed by society. Policing has generally been a male-dominated field, which has not always contributed positively to women looking for a career in policing. Many women have had to deal with a great deal…show more content… However, with the abundance of people in the vast majority of spaces, it resulted in overcrowding and numerous social problems in society. More crime and disorder was prevalent in the urban areas due to a lack of security and organization. It was not until 1829, when Sir Robert Peel established The Metropolitan Police Act in London, England to help control the crime and disorder in the urban centers. This consisted of a “full-time, unarmed police force of 1,000 men.” (Whitelaw & Parent, 2014) The main goal behind Peel’s act was that the police would not only serve the public, but also to maintain peace, and promote individual freedoms to help prevent crime and disorder among society. This policing system has influenced many countries including North America. However, even in western civilized countries, “class composition of public officers” (Corsianos, 2009) was not seen as equal, specifically in relation to gender equality. The public consists of equal numbers of men and women, yet during this time, majority of police officer positions were held by men. Feminist movements were advocated by women who wanted to promote higher “standards of morality.” (Corsianos, 2009) As a result of these movements, in 1915, Lilian Clerihew became the female officer to join the police force in Montreal, Canada. However, she was hired…show more content… Early in history, women’s work was seen as an “impediment to effective police work.” (LeBeuf, 1996) Many people held biased opinions that men were the only ones capable of handling a career in policing, because women were seen as inferior to men, not only physically, but mentally as well. Specifically during the 1970s, women portrayed a negative stigma in policing agencies. As a result of the gendered biased atmosphere, women were only given limited tasks and duties unlike the men, who were assigned to fight crime and disorder in society. They also were not paid as much as men were during this time. Women were also ostracised in the sense that they were not allowed to dress the same as men were; traditionally, their outfits consisted of a skirt and jacket. It was not until 1973, where women were permitted to carry a firearm; the forage cap was also not introduced to women until 1991. Women were also not seen as physically capable as men were, so that was another reason their roles as officers were hindered during this time. Not only was gender discrimination prevalent during this era, sexual harassment was also seen in the work place. Many men felt threatened because they did not want to share the roles of authority. “It is not easy to enter a field in which the value, images and stereotypes match those of the male gender.” (LeBeuf, 1996) This was seen in various situations such as
