The Double Bind: The Gendered Experience of Critical Incident Commanders During Training and Crisis Management

• In Event: Police Training

Abstract

Critical Incident Commanders (CICs) are responsible for directing all police action during emergencies (e.g., mass casualties, active shooters) that place numerous individuals in the line of fire. There is an enormous responsibility and pressure on CICs because of the nature of this work and high-stakes decision-making. Further societal and workplace expectations are placed on senior female police officers managing critical incidents in what has been called ‘the double bind’—the expectation to behave with both warmth and competence in leadership positions. Thus, this study sought to examine the gendered experience of female CICs through qualitative interviews to better understand the presence and characteristics of unique and added pressures that may be placed on this group and to measure gendered associations between autonomic dysregulation and social evaluative threat (SET) among CICs during simulated critical events at the Canadian national training college. This is the first exploration of potential gender differences among CIC experiences during training and managing stressful critical incidents. To conclude this presentation, we outline how sociocultural gender and related occupational stressors (e.g., gender discrimination, SET, harassment) might contribute to differences in biological functioning and inform the development of gender-informed wellness interventions and police training reform.

Authors

• Judith P. Andersen, University of Toronto

• Lorna Ferguson, Western University, Memorial University of Newfoundland

• Laura Huey, Western University