myAIPMNavigating the police promotion system: a comparison by gender of moving up the ranks
Jacqueline M. Drew and Jason Saunders | Police Practice and Research
Abstract
Promotion systems form a fundamental pillar in the development of organisational leadership capability. Surprisingly, little empirical research focus has been directed towards the specific decision-making processes of officers that influence their participation and engagement in the police promotion system. Importantly, gender differences must be examined as female police now represent the biggest demographic change in the pool of potential police leaders. Based on a study of police officers employed in one Australian state police jurisdiction, the research concludes that similar factors are generally associated with engagement with the police promotion system regardless of gender. Notably, gender differences only exist for factors related to support of higher-ranking officers in the promotion application process, support of colleagues once promoted, confidence in readiness for promotion, increased work hours and child/elder care difficulties and change in remuneration. The research highlights that gender equity policies designed to encourage female participation/engagement may result in unintended, negative consequences. Almost 80% of male officers in this study strongly indicating that females are promoted based on gender rather than skills and experience. The research has significant implications for police agencies who seek to support female officers moving into leadership positions.
Introduction
Promotion systems within policing have typically fallen into two categories: promotion by seniority and merit-based promotion (Savery, 1994). Most contemporary police organisations now ascribe to the merit-based promotion system. Countries such as Australia, United States and United Kingdom employ selection processes that are proposed to identify and select officers who are the most skilled and qualified to move up the ranks and remove discriminatory barriers such as those based on ethnicity or gender (Prenzler & Drew, 2013; White & Escobar, 2008). As such, opportunities in hierarchical occupations such as policing will inevitably involve promotion pressures for employees. The pyramidal structure of policing agencies, by the very nature of this structure, involves decreasing opportunities for promotion as officers attempt to move up the hierarchy (Whetstone, 2001). This constriction has the potential to impact negatively on those who seek promotion but are unable to attain it (Morabito & Shelley, 2018). Negative influences can be manifested in the relationships between an officer and their colleagues, management and the organisation (Savery, 1994). Others have found that failure to obtain promotion increases levels of cynicism, officers feel disenchanted and this is associated with further nonparticipation in the promotion system (Scarborough, Van Tubergen, Gaines, & Whitlow, 2000).
Given the significant impact that promotion systems can play in the attitudes and experience of officers within their police organisation, surprisingly, comparatively little empirical research focus has been directed towards the specific decision-making processes of officers (Archbold, Hassell, & Stichman, 2010). In particular, what are the specific factors that influence engagement with the police promotion system and how does this differ or not by gender? In this study, engagement is used to describe the decision of officers to actively seek promotion through their actions of applying for available positions at the next, higher rank.
This research seeks to contribute to the limited body of work that directly compares, within a single agency, the factors that influence male and female officers’ participation in the police promotion system. It explores reasons why officers choose to engage or not engage, identifying factors that are common across male and female officers and those that differ. Importantly, this research focuses on the issue of female officers moving up the ranks. It has been noted that current understanding of the promotion experiences of female officers remains limited (Morabito & Shelley, 2018). The study explores the perceptions of female officers from the perspective of how they believe they will be supported as leaders in the organisation. As will be discussed in this paper, research has often focused on the reasons why female officers may be disadvantaged within the promotion system, such as discrimination, limited opportunities and lack of mentorship (Archbold & Hassel, 2009; Archbold & Schulz, 2008; Whetstone & Wilson, 1999). However, given that many police organisations, including the one studied in the current research, has introduced proactive strategies to minimise such disadvantage, why has there not been a greater shift in numbers of female leaders? This research explores whether the decision to seek promotion is negatively influenced by the perception of others about their promotion, particularly their male counterparts and the support that female leaders perceive they will receive as leaders.
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Navigating the police promotion system: a comparison by gender of moving up the ranks, Jacqueline M. Drew and Jason Saunders, Police Practice and Research, 2020