I’m still in the blue family: gender and professional identity construction in police officers
Article
Article Title | I’m still in the blue family: gender and professional identity construction in police officers |
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ERA Journal ID | 36296 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | du Plessis, Carol (Author), Winterbotham, Sonya (Author), Fein, Erich C. (Author), Brownlow, Charlotte (Author), du Preez, Jan (Author), McKenna, Bernard (Author), Chen, Peter (Author), Beel, Nathan (Author) and du Plessis, Graham (Author) |
Journal Title | Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology |
Journal Citation | 36, pp. 386-396 |
Number of Pages | 11 |
Year | 2021 |
Place of Publication | United States |
ISSN | 0882-0783 |
1936-6469 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-020-09397-9 |
Web Address (URL) | https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11896-020-09397-9 |
Abstract | With an increase in gender equality policies and gender balance targets within traditionally male professions, organisations such as the police service are experiencing changing demographics. How these shifts influence the construction of professional identity is unclear. Drawing on focus group data, this study aimed to explore identity construction of police officers across gender using a thematic analysis method. Two themes related to identity construction were found to be common to both male and female police officers: ‘Working within a blue family’ and ‘Being a copper is a job for life’. However, the way in which these themes were articulated differed between male and female officers, with male officers experiencing more difficulty than female officers in terms of positioning their identity within the evolving police culture. The findings from this study have implications for gender policies in the workforce as they suggest that men may experience more difficulty than women in adjusting to a gender-diverse workforce, and that professional identity within traditionally male professions is more complex and nuanced than what was previously assumed. |
Keywords | gender differences; gender policies; identity construction; male professions; police officers |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 520502. Gender psychology |
Public Notes | File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author. |
Byline Affiliations | School of Psychology and Counselling |
University of Queensland | |
Auburn University, United States | |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q5x90/i-m-still-in-the-blue-family-gender-and-professional-identity-construction-in-police-officers
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