The effectiveness of affirmative action: The case of women in policing

Abstract

Although the legal bases of affirmative action plans have been debated widely, empirical examination of their effectiveness has been limited. This paper examines the impact of affirmative action on the hiring and promotion of women in policing. A survey of municipal departments serving populations of more than 50,000 found that women still constitute less than 10 percent of all police officers. Nevertheless, multivariate analyses show that both court-ordered and voluntary affirmative action policies have had a statistically significant impact on the hiring but not the promotion of female officers. In addition, case study data from five agencies show that affirnmtive action policies have widened women's opportunities to receive specialized assignments. These findings suggest the importance of continuing affirmative action policies despite recent legal setbacks.The 1972 amendments to the 1964 Civil Rights Act extended to public employers the prohibition against employment discrimination and made them responsible for taking "affirmative action" to assure equal employment opportunities. Since that time there has been heated debate about the legality of various mechanisms for achieving affirmative action, but only limited examination of its effectiveness in reducing employment discrimination. This paper examines the effects of efforts to eliminate discriminatory employment practices through affirmative action plans and related policy changes in policing. It suggests that substantial change has occurred, although women continue to be greatly underrepresented in policing, and that affirmative action policies have had a significant impact on the hiring and the assignment mobility of women in urban police departments.

Does Temporary Affirmative Action Produce Persistent Effects? A Study of Black and Female Employment in Law Enforcement

“…We also find that female employment shares increase following litigation and AA plans, consistent with the previous literature (Martin 1991, Sass and Troyer 1999, Lott 2000. However, in contrast to our findings for blacks, the gains for women represent only marginal improvements over national trends.…”

Officer Preferences for Male Backup: The Influence of Gender and Police Partnering

“…Despite such resentment, optimism concerning the progress of policewomen appears justified. Recruitment and selection of women into policing has increased, the frequency of sex discrimination has lessened, and promotional opportunities opened (Martin 1991). Furthermore, policewomen have become symbols of change for an occupation preoccupied with masculine priorities.…”

Affirmative Action: A Feminist Economics Policy to Counteract Implicit Bias in Employment

“…Further, employers who adopted affirmative action measures were more likely to hire "stigmatized" applicants, defined as people with criminal records, welfare recipients and people unemployed more than a year. Other researchers, including Leonard (1984Leonard ( , 1989, Martin (1991), and Bergmann (1996), in the U.S. found improved employment outcomes in companies with affirmative action programs. (Please see Holzer and Neumark (2000a) for a thorough review of the literature.…”