Fighting from inside? Female officers experience in Italian police force

• In Event: POLWG Panel 23: Women in Policing

Abstract

Despite increased participation in all Western police forces, women are underrepresented almost everywhere and typically occupy low-level positions. The “working personality” of police officers is still primarily based on masculine values. Police organizations and practices may be affected by gender stereotypes and homophobic biases, as a broad international literature shows. This paper fills a gap in Italian police and gender studies, presenting the preliminary results of the first Italian research on Italian female police officers. Quantitative and qualitative data – based on interviews with policewomen in the different Italian police forces – will be presented and discussed. The focus will be on how Italian police are adjusting to the presence of more female officers, how policewomen experience their roles, what their “survival strategies” are, and what forms of discrimination persist.

Author

• Rossella Selmini, University of Bologna