INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY
Education is the key to breaking the bias. Everyone should feel that they can challenge when non-inclusive language is used. Some don’t even realise they are doing it. Fortunately, policing has come a long way in terms of gender equality. The number of women joining the police has risen around 10 per cent in the past 30 years; more women are being promoted into higher ranks and being successful in applying for specialist roles. However, there is still a long way to go. We still see some officers with misogynistic views and attitudes. We need to call these people out if we ever want to get to a place of true gender equality and to break the bias.
SUE HONEYWILL ‘You don’t look like a police officer. You’re too nice to be a police officer. The stripper has arrived.’ All things I have had said to me as a woman in policing. But these days, I am described as a ‘force of nature.’ With 25 years’ service, I can honestly say that I have seen massive improvement in
gender equality within policing. There is, however, a large cultural hurdle to jump. It’s about having the right people in the right job with the right skills, no matter their sex. We all need to challenge unconscious bias and educate those around us on it. In my experience, those of us in a minority group just want to ‘fit in’; we don’t want to make a fuss. But I know that we must make a difference and it’s not good enough to accept things can’t or won’t change for the better. Being a bystander to behaviour that
is potential bias is not acceptable. It’s incumbent on all of us to recognise equality, diversity and inclusion – it is everyone’s responsibility. Not only will this improve the culture and working environment within forces, but it will be the catalyst for fair representation across policing. After all, ‘the police are the public and the public are the police’.
SAM HAWKINS ‘Rottweiler, man hater, difficult, aggressive’ – just a few of the names I have
been called in my 32 years of service. I have lost count of the number of times I have picked up the phone in the Duty Inspector’s office to be greeted with surprise that a woman had answered before the caller asks to speak to the inspector. I still receive emails addressing me as ‘Sir’, assuming that Inspector Sam Hawkins is a man.
My experiences as a female officer in a male dominated environment are a huge part of why I became a Fed Rep. Looking back, it’s great to see that policing’s inclusion, integration and value of women has improved – but there is more to do. As part of the PFEW Women’s Group and as a branch secretary, I am passionate about breaking the bias. In my view, raising awareness so that we can first all acknowledge our biases is key. We all do it sometimes, but self-awareness and empowering our colleagues to challenge us when we do, will help hugely. It is easy to say ‘equality’, but it’s so much harder to demonstrate it. But I am confident we can all play our part to do it.
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@IAMRoadSmart iam_roadsmart IAM RoadSmart, 1 Albany Place, Hyde Way, Welwyn Garden City, AL7 3BT 27 | POLICE | APRIL 2022
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