INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY EMBRACING EQUITY
Police Federation of England and Wales celebrated its female leaders on International Women’s Day. By Sophie Garrod
On March 8, 52 Federation representatives and staff members joined the organisation’s first ever online event transpose to recognise the uplift in females in senior positions at PFEW and to hear about their achievements and challenges. Leading the event, PFEW’s National
Women’s Group embraced the theme of equity, highlighting the success of there being eight women on the National Board, a great achievement when compared to previous years. Sue Honeywill, chair of the National Women’s Group, said: “This is a real achievement and something worth celebrating. We admit there are still improvements to be made, and it is important we identify any barriers, as under a quarter of PFEW reps overall are female.”
service, so they taught me how to iron my shirt, and bull my boots, and they taught me how to march so I wasn’t tick-tocking. I was the only female on my shift, and it was a team of 11 on the outskirts of Leicester,” she said. “It was the era of skirts, handbags – which you could barely fit anything in,
“This is something worth celebrating.
We admit there are still improvements to be made, and it is important we identify any barriers, as under a quarter of PFEW reps overall are female”
Deputy National Chair Tiff Lynch shared her policing journey with participants, revealing how when she joined Leicestershire Police in 1995, she was the youngest in the force at the age of 19. “It was a great intake. Most were ex-
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especially not the massive radios - and mini truncheons.” Tiff aspired to be involved in response driving, firearms and tactical support, and thankfully managed to turn her dreams into a reality, but it didn’t come easy, as female officers at the time were railroaded down routes such as handling sexual assaults. “Nine times out of 10, I was the only woman going for a job in tactical support or the surveillance side – it was tough competition,” explained Tiff. In 2014 she became the first female chair for Leicestershire Police Federation - and hopes to not be the last - after becoming a rep in 2007, and in 2018 put herself forward to sit on the National Board. “I started my career knowing it is ‘work
hard, play hard’, and I was going to grab every opportunity thrown at me. And that is
what I have done so far. It is a privilege being the Deputy National Chair and through teamwork and networking we can bring more and more women into these positions in the future. This is the start of something big in my view. “It is all about opening doors for me. Coming from a Tactical Support Group background, if it doesn’t open, I’ll smash it open.”
Gemma Fox, PFEW Deputy
National Secretary, also shared her
experience of juggling having a baby with carrying out her duties in her elected position. At the time, she was worried about
maternity leave around election period, in terms of not being visible, feeling out of the loop and like she was not contributing. “Maternity and raising children within the police environment is a challenging situation for everybody. We recognise circumstances are unique for everyone and we have got to keep pushing for that supportive culture within policing,” explained Gemma. “Being in an elected position whilst thinking about having a family does bring about a unique set of circumstances.
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