University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Recruiting and hiring female police officers: an evaluative study

(USC Thesis Other)

Recruiting and hiring female police officers: an evaluative study

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content Running head: RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 1
Recruiting and Hiring Female Police Officers: An Evaluative Study
by
Darren L. Goodman
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
(Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line))
December 2019
Copyright 2019 Darren L. Goodman
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 2
DEDICATION
This dissertation is dedicated to both my mother and my wife.

RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A dissertation is not a solitary effort. I am deeply indebted to several people both professionally
and personally. I would like to acknowledge their contributions. Professionally, I would like to
thank the contributions of Dr. Kimberly Hirabayashi, Dr. Ebony Cain, Dr. Julie Slayton, Dr.
Courtney Malloy, Dr. Evelyn Felina Castillo, Dr. Alan Greene, Dr. Victor Fazio, and Dr. Marcus
“The Skipper” Pritchard. Personally, I would like to thank two outstanding individuals. The
first person is my mother. You gave me life and took care of me when I could not take care of
myself. You deferred your dreams, so that I could fulfill mine. Your sacrifices were not in vain.
The second person is my wife. This dissertation would not have been possible without you.

RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 4
TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION ................................................................................................................................ 2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ 3

LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................... 7

LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................... 8

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... 9

CHAPTER

I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 10

Introduction to Problem of Practice ...................................................................... 10
Organizational Context and Mission ..................................................................... 11
Organizational Goal ............................................................................................... 14
Importance of Addressing the Problem ................................................................. 15
Stakeholder Group: Human Resources ................................................................. 16
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions .................................................... 16
Research Design .................................................................................................... 17
Definitions of Key Terminology ........................................................................... 18
Organization of the Research Project .................................................................... 19

II. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................. 20

Women in Law Enforcement ................................................................................. 20
History of Women in Law Enforcement ................................................... 21
Recruiting and Hiring Female Law Enforcement ..................................... 22
Recruitment and hiring process ..................................................... 22
Marketing ...................................................................................... 23
Job qualifications ........................................................................... 24
Motivation ..................................................................................... 24
Community policing ...................................................................... 25
Barriers to Female Law Enforcement ........................................................ 25
Gender discrimination ................................................................... 26
Physical fitness .............................................................................. 26
Sexual harassment ......................................................................... 27
Clark and Estes Gap Analytic Conceptual Framework ......................................... 27
Knowledge Influences ............................................................................... 28
Declarative knowledge .................................................................. 29
Procedural knowledge ................................................................... 30
Motivational Influences ............................................................................. 31
Self-efficacy .................................................................................. 32
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 5
Task value ...................................................................................... 33
Organizational Influences .......................................................................... 34
Cultural influences ......................................................................... 35
Stakeholder factors ........................................................................ 36
Integrated Conceptual Framework ........................................................................ 36
Summary ................................................................................................................ 38

III. METHOD .................................................................................................................... 39

Research Design ................................................................................................... 39
Participating Stakeholders ........................................................................ 39
Data Collection ......................................................................................... 41
Data Analysis ............................................................................................ 42
Credibility and Trustworthiness ............................................................... 43
Positionality ............................................................................................... 44
Ethics ......................................................................................................... 44
Summary ................................................................................................................ 45

IV. FINDINGS .................................................................................................................. 46

Participating Stakeholders ..................................................................................... 46
Knowledge Findings .............................................................................................. 49
Declarative knowledge .................................................................. 49
Procedural knowledge ................................................................... 51
Motivational Findings ........................................................................................... 52
Self-efficacy .................................................................................. 52
Task value ...................................................................................... 53
Organizational Findings ........................................................................................ 55
Summary ................................................................................................................ 59

V. RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................................................. 60

Recommendations for Practice .............................................................................. 60
Recommendation #1: Organizational Mission ...................................................... 61
Recommendation #2: Community Policing .......................................................... 62
Recommendation #3: Policies and Procedures ...................................................... 62
Recommendation #4: Recruitment Marketing ...................................................... 64
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Gap Analysis Model ........................................ 65
Limitations ............................................................................................................. 66
Future Research ..................................................................................................... 67
Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 67

REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................. 69

APPENDICES

RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 6
APPENDIX A: Interview Protocol ................................................................................... 81
APPENDIX B: Institutional Review Board Approval ...................................................... 83
APPENDIX C: Informed Consent ..................................................................................... 84
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 7
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. SCLEA’s Personnel by Law Enforcement Position ........................................................ 12
Table 2. Knowledge Influences, Types, and Assessments for the Organizational Goal ............... 29
Table 3. Motivational Influences and Assessments for the Organizational Goal ......................... 32
Table 4. Organizational Influences and Assessments for the Organizational Goal ...................... 35
Table 5. Sampling Criteria and Rationale for Selecting Participants ............................................ 41
Table 6. Demographic Information of Participating Stakeholders ................................................ 47

RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 8
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Males and females in both the SCLEA and in the population of Bernard County ........ 13
Figure 2. Gap analytic framework for recruiting and hiring female police officers ..................... 37
Figure 3. Longitudinal representation of males and females at the SCLEA (2014-2018) ........... 48

RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 9
ABSTRACT
In the United States, the preservation of peace and public safety largely depends on law
enforcement agencies or police. However, the ability of law enforcement agencies to protect and
serve their communities requires adequate staffing. One particular area of law enforcement
staffing has been the recruitment and hiring of female police officers. This research project
applied a modified gap analysis problem-solving framework to develop strategies to increase the
number of female law enforcement officers at the Southern California Law Enforcement Agency
(SCLEA). The purpose of this qualitative research was to identify knowledge, motivation, and
organizational barriers hindering the recruitment and hiring of female police officers and,
therefore, contributing to the identified gap of female disproportionality in the law enforcement
agency. Participants included human resources personnel at the SCLEA. Data were collected
using qualitative research methods, including interviews and organizational document. The
constant comparative method was used to analyze data. First, findings suggested that, although
male law enforcement has increased, female law enforcement has decreased at the SCLEA.
Second, findings suggested that the stakeholders were motivated and had adequate knowledge
for recruiting and hiring women law enforcement. Third, findings suggested two organizational
barriers hindering the recruitment and hiring of female police officers included policies and
procedures and recruitment and hiring practices related to women in law enforcement. Lastly,
findings suggested revising and changing organizational documents to change practices,
including the mission statement, hiring requirements, and policies and procedures, more
generally, along with improving marketing, because stakeholders’ knowledge and motivations
reside within the organizational influences. A series of solutions to address the barriers to
increasing female police officers were developed. The gap analysis problem-solving framework
applied in this research project demonstrated one approach for helping guide the SCLEA to reach
its organizational goal of increasing the number of female law enforcement officers.

RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 10
I. INTRODUCTION
Introduction to Problem of Practice
In the United States, the preservation of peace and public safety largely depends on law
enforcement agencies or police. Police power reserved by individual states is grounded in the
Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (Galva, Atchison, & Levey, 2005). This police
power granted to law enforcement agencies includes enforcing local, state, and federal laws,
ensuring community safety or public health, providing assistance during emergencies or crises,
and regulating “private rights in the public interest” (Galva et al., 2005, p. 20).
However, the ability of law enforcement agencies to protect and serve their communities
requires adequate staffing. This staffing includes the recruitment and hiring of quality law
enforcement officers, especially officers from diverse backgrounds that reflect their community
(Schuck, 2014). Yet, law enforcement agencies continue to struggle with recruiting and hiring of
qualified law enforcement officers (Newman & Lyon, 2009). For instance, over half of small
police agencies, defined as those serving communities of less than 50,000, and nearly two thirds
of large police agencies, defined as those serving communities of more than 50,000, have
reported a lack of qualified applicants to fill needed law enforcement vacancies (Koper, Maguire,
& Moore, 2001). Outreach efforts have strived to create applicant pools and motivate qualified
applicants to accept employment in law enforcement (Newman & Lyon, 2009).
One particular area of law enforcement outreach includes the recruitment and hiring of
female police officers. This study was undertaken with the presupposition that police or law
enforcement agencies need more women. Approximately half the U.S. population is female
(U.S. Census Bureau, 2011), although women remain underrepresented in law enforcement
(Lonsway, 2007). For instance, nationwide in 2017, 60% of full-time civilian law enforcement
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 11
employees were female, whereas only 12.5% of full-time law enforcement officers were female
(Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI], 2017). Increasing the number of female police officers
through recruitment and outreach efforts (Lonsway, 2007) can have many benefits. For instance,
research suggests that female police officers tend to receive fewer complaints and use less non-
lethal and less lethal force than their male counterparts (Brandl, Stroshine, and Frank, 2001).
Organizational Context and Mission
The Southern California Law Enforcement Agency (SCLEA; a pseudonym) provides a
wide range of law enforcement services for the citizens of a large Southern California
jurisdiction. SCLEA is considered a large law enforcement agency because it serves a
population of over 50,000 citizens. The SCLEA serves a civilian population of over two million
(U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). To serve the citizens of Bernard County (a pseudonym), SCLEA
has regular patrol operations along with other specialized services and divisions. Some of these
services and divisions include air patrols, homicide investigations, narcotics, and gang
enforcement, among others. SCLEA’s law enforcement activities are to fulfill the mission of
following constitutional and ethical standards to maintain public order and prevent crime by
working in partnership with the community, so as to create a peaceful community for all citizens.
One implied element of this mission is the diverse recruitment and hiring of police officers.
SCLEA’s organizational structure is a hierarchal, paramilitary type of structure. Within
this top-down structure, entry-level police candidates are required to complete a 920-hour police
academy. Once the police academy has been successfully completed, entry-level candidates
become certified police officers by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training
(POST). The POST sets the “minimum selection and training standards for California law
enforcement” (“About Post,” 2018, para. 1). In conjunction with sworn personnel in various law
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 12
enforcement roles dedicated to fulfilling the organizational mission of SCLEA, civilian
employees hold various roles and responsibilities including correction specialist, citizen patrol,
clerical specialists, and management positions (SCLEA, 2016). Table 1 illustrates the hierarchal
and divisional structure of SCLEA according to the number of law enforcement in each position.

Table 1.
SCLEA’s Personnel by Law Enforcement Position
Law Enforcement Position f
a
%
Department Leader 1 0.05
2nd in Command 1 0.05
Assistant Leader 2 0.11
Chief 7 0.38
Captain 30 1.63
Lieutenant 47 2.56
Sergeant 199 10.84
Detective 187 10.19
Officer 1336 72.81
Coroner 19 1.04
Coroner I 5 0.27
Coroner II 1 0.05
Total 1835 100.00
Note.
a
f denotes the frequency or number of individuals in each law enforcement position.

SCLEA has an approximately 1,835 law enforcement personnel. Law enforcement officers
constitute the largest personnel category, making up 72.81% of the entire police force.
An important consideration for law enforcement agencies is their diversity. Diversity is
made up of several primary dimensions. Primary dimensions include “core elements that cannot
be changed: race, age, gender, sexual orientation, and physical and mental abilities. These
characteristics form the heart of people’s identities and shape the filters through which they view
the world” (Sullivan, 2009, p. 159). One important primary filter of diversity that affects how
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 13
law enforcement view the world is gender. Gender diversity refers to the representativeness of
women compared to men in law enforcement (Lonsway, 2007; Schuck, 2014; Schuck & Rabe-
Hemp, 2007), especially related to the “inclusion of traditionally marginalized groups in the
composition of institutions, communities, corporations, and government” (Sullivan, 2009, p.
160). Likewise, Lonsway (2007) suggests the “number of women in law enforcement has
remained small and the pace of increase slow” (p. 1). Figure 1 illustrates the number of males
and females in Bernard County compared to the number of males and females in the SCLEA.

Figure 1. Males and females in both the SCLEA and in the population of Bernard County.

SCLEA had a total of 1,835 law enforcement personnel in 2016. Male law enforcement
officers (n = 1579; 86%) greatly out number female law enforcement officers (n = 256; 14%).
However, the female population (50.2%) of Bernard County was slightly more than the male
population (49.8%; U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). As previously illustrated in Figure 1, although
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 14
there exists an equal proportion of males-to-females in Bernard County, gender
disproportionality in the SCLEA exists between female law enforcement officers and male law
enforcement officers. For instance, for every seven female police officers hired, there are 43
male police officers hired. This finding of gender disproportionality in the SCLEA remains
consistent with gender disproportionality throughout the United States (Schuck, 2014).
Organizational Goal
SCLEA’s organizational goal is to use recruiting and hiring to increase the number of
female law enforcement in order to reflect or represent the gender demographics of the
community served in Southern California. More specifically, SCLEA’s recruitment and hiring
goal is to increase the number of female law enforcement officers from 13.95% to 20% by 2020.
This goal is implicitly drawn from SCLEA’s mission statement to follow constitutional and
ethical standards to maintain public order and prevent crime by working in partnership with the
community, so as to create a peaceful community for all citizens. The goal of 20% was selected
based on consensus reached during a stakeholder meeting, which included city and community
representatives. To achieve this mission, SCLEA must recruit and hire quality law enforcement
officer’s representative of the community. One important dimension of community
representativeness is gender diversity reflected in the number of female law enforcement. From
an organizational perspective, increasing women police requires an understanding of the
knowledge and motivation of those charged with addressing this goal. Moreover, knowledge has
various components that independently function to bridge the gap between what is known
factually, understood conceptually, and mastered procedurally and cognitively (Krathwohl,
2001). Similarly, there are several motivational theories that scholars attribute to the
achievement of goals or lack thereof (Eccles, 2006). This research project examines the
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 15
knowledge, motivation, and organizational elements associated with increasing the number of
female law enforcement officers in the SCLEA.
Importance of Addressing the Problem
Wilson, Dalton, Scheer, and Grammich (2010) and Wilson (2012) indicates that one of
the most pressing issues for police agencies is acquiring and maintaining a qualified and diverse
workforce. The U.S. Department of Justice (2009) suggests five benefits of having a diverse
police force or law enforcement agency. This law enforcement diversity,
Helps police officers arrive at a broader array of solutions. Helps to develop balanced,
relevant, and culturally sensitive responses to community problems and critical incidents.
Enhances mutual understanding between the department and the community. Reduces
stereotyping of groups in the community by the police and stereotyping of the police by
community groups. [And, it] Inspires members of formerly underrepresented groups to
support the police. (U.S. Department of Justice, 2009, p. 32)
Hence, diversity is an important issue that should be addressed at the SCLEA.
Women police officers constitute an important but often under researched area of law
enforcement diversity (Lonsway, 2007, Schuck, 2014; Schuck & Rabe-Hemp, 2007). One
important goal is to increase female officers through recruiting and hiring efforts. Research
suggests that citizens who live in underserved communities tend to have confidence and trust in
police that reflect community diversity (Krislov & Rosenbloom, 1981; Ragnella & White, 2004).
Police force diversity helps create a public perception of both police fairness and police
legitimacy (Koper et al., 2001). Working to ensure public confidence in the police is important
because police confidence in the United States has fluctuated in recent years going from its
lowest levels in over 22 years in 2015 (Jones, 2015) back to its historic average of 57% in 2017
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 16
(Norman, 2017). Moreover, the presence of gender diversity can help to signify an
“organization’s commitment to equal opportunity and access to power and can promote the
legitimacy of public bureaucracies” (Meier & Nicholson-Crotty, 2006, p. 851). Research also
suggests gender specific advantages of female police over their male counterparts. For instance,
female police officers tend to receive fewer complaints and use both less non-lethal and less
lethal force than male police officers (Brandl et al., 2001).
Stakeholder Group: Human Resources
Donaldson and Preston (1995) defines stakeholders as “those groups without whose
support the organisation will cease to exist” (p. 2). Hence, stakeholders are essential for
addressing organizational problems and implementing solutions to achieve the goals or mission
of an organization. The stakeholder focus in this study was recruiting and hiring personnel in the
human resources department at SCLEA. One task of the human resources department is to
recruit and hire law enforcement officers. The human resources department involvement is
required for the SCLEA to achieve its organizational goal of increasing the number of female
law enforcement officers. Human resources personnel include officers, civilians, and leadership.
This stakeholder group is directly linked to recruiting and hiring activities, and it is essential to
increasing the number of female law enforcement officers at the SCLEA. While there are other
stakeholders involved in the organizational goal, the primary stakeholder responsible for
recruiting and hiring officers is the human resources department.
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions
The purpose of this qualitative research project was to evaluate the degree to which the
SCLEA is achieving its goal of increasing the number of female law enforcement from 13.95%
to 20% by 2020. This research project employs a modified gap analysis framework to evaluate
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 17
the knowledge, motivation, and organizational elements related to achieving SCLEA’s
organizational goal of increasing female police officers. This qualitative project uses interviews
and organizational documents to make recommendations for improving gender diversity. The
specific stakeholder focus is recruiting and hiring personnel in SCLEA’s human resources
department. To address the purpose of this project related to evaluating the recruiting and hiring
of female law enforcement, three research questions related to the knowledge, motivation, and
organization elements for recruiting and hiring women police were posed (RQ1-3):
• RQ1: What knowledge influences affect stakeholders’ practices in terms of recruiting
and hiring of female police officers?
• RQ2: What motivational influences affect stakeholders’ practices in terms of
recruiting and hiring of female police officers?
• RQ3: What organizational influences affect stakeholders’ practices in terms of
recruiting and hiring of female police officers?
The above three research questions have been addressed in the findings chapter.
Research Design
This research project employs a qualitative research design for data collection and
analysis. Participants include personnel in SCLEA’s human resources department who are
responsible for recruiting and hiring new police officers. Data collection was based on two
methods previously recommended by Creswell (2013) and Merriam (2009): semi-structured
interviews and organizational documents. Data analysis was based on the constant comparative
method, as recommended by Saldaña (2016) and Strauss and Corbin (1990, 1994, 1998). Data
triangulation was used to ensure the trustworthiness of the results. These findings address the
three research questions. These research questions help to identify SCLEA’s current
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 18
performance level, the factors hindering the recruitment and hiring of female police officers, and
solutions or recommendation for mitigating these factors to increase female law enforcement.
Definitions of Key Terminology
Several key terms are used throughout this research project. Therefore, a list of the
definitions of this key terminology is provided below, so that different readers, as suggested by
Nenty (2009), have a common understanding of the concepts to prevent misinterpretation:
Community Stakeholders: “All individuals and organizations that have a vested interest in
a safe and healthy community. This includes public and private institutions, social service
providers, schools, churches, businesses, property owners, renters, and others” (Glossary of
Police Terms, 2013, p. 7).
Diversity: The “primary dimensions [that] are core elements that cannot be changed:
race, age, gender, sexual orientation, and physical and mental abilities. These characteristics
form the heart of people's identities and shape the filters through which they view the world”
(Sullivan, 2009, p. 159).
Law Enforcement Agency: A “government agency that is responsible for the enforcement
of the laws. Law enforcement agencies have powers, which other government subjects do not, to
enable the law enforcement agency to undertake its responsibilities” (U.S. Legal, 2018a, para. 1).
Motivation: “The process of starting, directing, and maintaining physical and
psychological activities; includes mechanisms involved in preferences for one activity over
another and the vigor and persistence of responses” (Gerrig, 2013, p. 532).
Organizational Culture: “A pattern of shared basic assumptions learned by a group as it
solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, which has worked well
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 19
enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to
perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems” (Schein, 1985, p. 12).
Police Power: Police power was “adopted in early colonial America from firmly
established English common law principles mandating the limitation of private rights when
needed for the preservation of the common good” (Galva et al., 2005, p. 20).
Police Officers: Individuals who carry out “general law enforcement duties including
maintaining regular patrols and responding to calls for service” (U.S. Legal, 2018b, para. 6).
1

Organization of the Research Project
This research project has been organized into five chapters. This chapter introduced the
problem of practice, organization and mission, organization performance goal, project
significance, and purpose and research questions related to recruiting and hiring female law
enforcement. The second chapter provides a literature review focused on recruiting and hiring
law enforcement and presents a conceptual framework based on knowledge, motivation, and
organizational elements. The third chapter presents the methodology, including the selection of
participants, method of data collection and analysis, trustworthiness, and ethics. The fourth
chapter presents the study’s findings. The last chapter presents a discussion of the findings
within the context of previous literature and the organizational goals and proposes some practical
recommendation for increasing the number female law enforcement in the SCLEA.

1
Police officers and law enforcement officers are used interchangeably in this study.
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 20
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter reviews previous literature about female law enforcement officers.
Differing perspectives help provide an understanding of disproportionate representation of
female law enforcement officers. Therefore, this chapter reviews research related to recruiting
and hiring female law enforcement, including the stressors and organizational barriers that have
historically hindered the entry of women into the law enforcement profession. This chapter then
situates this literature within a conceptual framework focused on the knowledge, motivations,
and organizational elements related to increasing female law enforcement.
Women in Law Enforcement
This section provides an empirical and theoretical review of research on women in law
enforcement to inform stakeholder practices for increasing the number of female police officers.
This section reviews previous research on the representation of women in law enforcement, the
historical role of women in law enforcement, the recruitment and hiring of female law
enforcement officers, and the barriers to increasing the number of women in law enforcement.
Women continue to struggle for equity in law enforcement representation, although the
number of female police has slowly grown since the 1970s (Schuck & Rabe-Hemp, 2007). For
instance, female law enforcement made up approximately 2% of the police force in 1972
(Lonsway et al., 2002). However, today as of 2017, female law enforcement officers represent
approximately 12.5% of the police force (FBI, 2017). These figures suggest that, although law
enforcement agencies have more female police, female police are still underrepresented in the
law enforcement profession compared to their male counterparts (Lonsway, 2007).

RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 21
History of Women in Law Enforcement
Schulz (2004) provides a history of women policing captured into four different eras.
The first being the prison matron era began in the 1820s, where women helped female inmates
while working in prisons. This work eventually brought about prison reform because female
inmates tended to be neglected by males in the prison system. Women police became
responsible for guarding female inmates (Moron, 1998). This led to the police matron position
held by women, a position that differed from male police. They handled female inmates,
interviewed female witnesses, and made sentencing recommendations (Kringen, 2014a).
The policewomen era began around the 1890s to the 1960s (Schulz, 2004). In 1910,
Alice Stebbin Wells became the first policewoman, and in 1915, she helped establish the
International Association of Policewomen. During this ear, women policing adhered to a social
work model, hoping to save women and children from a life of crime. During the 1950s, women
began wearing uniforms and carrying guns. For example, Chicago introduced the first woman
police uniform and in Detroit women carried handguns (Schulz, 1993). It was during this era
that women police gained many of the policing duties as policemen (Kringen, 2014b).
The modern era of policing lasted from around the 1960s to the 1990s. During this era,
women police followed a crime-fighting model of policing (Schulz, 2004). It was also during
this period that legislation and court cases helped pave the way for women in law enforcement.
Some of these pivotal legislative changes include:
• 1963 Equal Pay Act, which prohibited unequal pay based on sex,
• 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prevented employers from discriminating based on sex,
race, religion, or national origin,
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 22
• 1972 Equal Employment Opportunity Act, which amended the Title VII of the Equal
Pay Act, making it applicable to government at the state and local levels, and
• 1973 Crime Control Act, which prevented law enforcement agencies from receiving
federal funding if they practiced discriminatory practices.
Some relevant court cases during this era included the 1962 Supreme Court decision in Shpritzer
v. Lang (1962), allowing women to take promotional law enforcement exams, and the 1977
Supreme Court decision in Dothard v. Rawlinson (1977), which eliminated height and weight as
criteria in physical ability tests. There was also a push for a unisex police officer title, screen
police recruits for psychological stress, cognitive ability, personality, and establishing education
standards (Schulz, 1993). Many of these changes were brought about by two different
commissions: the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice
(1967) and the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals (1973).
The current era began in the 1990s with a turn toward community policing and law
enforcement diversity (Schulz, 2004). An era sparked by the Rodney King beating in Los
Angeles, California, Schulz’s (2004) suggests that community-oriented policing relies on
cooperation and trust between the community and the police serving that community. Although
community-oriented policing tends to align with the natural tendencies of women police (Martin
& Jurik, 2007), policing shifted to the crime-fighting model after 9/11, which left the
community-oriented model of policing to be placed in the back burner (Kerlikowske, 2004)
Recruiting and Hiring Female Law Enforcement
Recruitment and hiring process. Several steps exist in the recruiting and hiring process
of law enforcement officers. Recruiting potential applicants is the first step in the hiring process
of law enforcement officers (Kringen, 2014b). Sanders (2008) note that candidate screening
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 23
tends to follow a weed-out process. The second step is the selection process, including “an
application process followed by oral interviews, a written exam, physical agility tests,
psychological evaluations, drug screenings and background checks” (Wilson, 2016, p. 26).
When police applicants have successfully completed the battery of tests (e.g., physical,
emotional, intellectual, and physical), they enter the police academy, where they undergo
training on the technical and mechanical aspects of policing. For example, future police officers
learn and develop skills like shooting, driving, and law enforcement tactics (Chappell, 2008).
When police recruits graduate from police academy, they become police officers and complete
field training. This field training pairs new police officers with veterans to ease the transition
into the community. Research indicates that police agencies have tried to increase diversity but
struggle recruiting female applicants (Wilson, Dalton, Scheer, & Grammich, 2010). White and
Escobar (2008) suggest that female applicants should be directly recruited to increase diversity.
Marketing. Marketing is often used to recruit potential law enforcement applicants. The
American Marketing Association (2013) suggests that marketing is “the activity, set of
institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings
that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large” (para. 2). Marketing is an
important activity for recruiting female applicants. However, the U.S. Department of Justice
(2009) suggests, “policing has an image problem among some constituents” (p. 32). Some of the
marketing efforts employed by law enforcement agencies to increase the number of police
recruits include different types of media like radio, television, posters, recruiting days, and mass
mailing campaigns (U.S. Department of Justice 2009). For example, the Tucson Police
Department increased females over two classes from 10% to 29% while the Albuquerque Police
Department increased females over the course of two classes from 10% to 25% (Milgram, 2005).
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 24
These departments followed short and long-term marketing strategies. Milgram (2005) lists
short-term strategies for recruiting women as developing a targeted marketing campaign, holding
career fairs, and displaying posters and flyers featuring women police, among other things.
Long-term strategies included recruiting from two and four-year colleges, offering internships,
developing high school police academies, and holding a citizen police academy.
Helldorfer (2016) examines police agencies’ use of the internet in their recruiting and
hiring efforts. Helldorfer found that police agencies have tended to not use “websites or social
media as recruitment tools” (p. ii). Yet, the internet influences police recruiting (Castaneda &
Ridgeway, 2010). Crump (2011) suggests that police agencies are still experimenting with social
media for recruiting. For example, the San Diego Police Department has developed a “new
recruiting strategy focused on using social media to attract millennials” (Garrick, 2018, para. 1).
Wilson, Dalton, Scheer, and Grammich, (2010) suggests that only 20% of law enforcement
agencies directly target females. Research suggests directly marketing to females is more
effective than online activities (Wilson, Wilson, Luthar, & Bridges, 2013). Targeted marketing
may increase the number of female police recruits (Jordon, Fridell, Faggiani, & Kubu, 2009).
Job qualifications. Research suggests that a higher education requirement can provide
several benefits for a law enforcement agency. Telep (2011) suggests law enforcement officers
without higher education had a higher degree of tolerance for police abuse than officers with
higher education. That is, police officers with a higher education viewed police abuse more
negatively. Schuck (2014) found that law enforcement agencies that have higher education
requirements also tended to have higher levels of female police officer representation.
Motivation. Motivation is the “The process of starting, directing, and maintaining
physical and psychological activities; includes mechanisms involved in preferences for one
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 25
activity over another and the vigor and persistence of responses” (Gerrig, 2013, p. 532).
Research suggests that females and males join law enforcement agencies for similar reasons like
benefits, retirement, job security, and excitement (Raganella & White, 2004). Females tend to
become police officers because they want to help people and provide service (Lester, 1983;
Perlstein, 1972). Foley, Guarneri, and Kelly (2008) suggest that females are also motivated by
the chance for advancement. White, Cooper, Saunders, and Raganella (2010) indicate, “there is
currently little evidence to suggest that departments should dramatically alter their strategies
when targeting females and minorities” (p. 528).
Community policing. Research suggests that community policing is likely to attract
potential female law enforcement officers. Community policing often emphasizes public
service, victim assistance, and collaborative policing with the community (Prenzler & Sinclair,
2013; Rabe-Hemp, 2008, 2011). Schuck (2014) found law enforcement agencies that have
higher levels of female officer representation were associated with organizations that emphasized
community policing. Research suggests that community policing depends on attributes often
held by female police officers like de-escalation and low levels of firearm discharge (Prenzler &
Sinclair, 2013; Rabe-Hemp, 2008, 2011). Research also suggests that female police officers are
patient and supportive (Lonsway, 2003). However, the many unique barriers that woman face
may impede, detract, or hinder their motivation for become police.
Barriers to Female Law Enforcement
The U.S. Department of Justice (2009) indicates, “Before law enforcement … personnel
managers can meet their recruitment and selection objectives, they must first identify and
understand the challenges they face in their jurisdiction” (p.32). Dodge and Valcore (2011)
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 26
suggest that males and female tend to become police for similar reasons. However, research
suggests several barriers may hinder recruiting and hiring women police officers.
Gender discrimination. Research suggests gender discrimination represents one barrier
that impacts female cadets and police officers. Gender or sex-based discrimination refers to
“treating someone (an applicant or employee) unfavorably because of that person’s sex” (U.S.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2009a, para. 1). Kringen (2014b) suggests that
police academy training may serve as barrier for women cadets, helping to perpetuate gender
discrimination, because training academies are hierarchal, paramilitary organizational structures
that tend to favor masculinity (Chapell & Lanza-Kaduce, 2010) while marginalizing women
(Acker, 1992). Prokos and Padavic (2002) suggests that masculine dominance is a form of
hidden curriculum in the training academy. Moreover, male officers often displayed negative
attitudes toward women (Franklin, 2005; Shelley, Morabito, Tobin-Gurley, 2011). Women are
often assigned gender-specific duties like working with women (Hassell, Archbold, & Stichman,
2011) and performing caregiver duties (Rabe-Hemp, 2011).
Physical fitness. Research suggests physical fitness tests are another potential barrier for
female cadets. Birzer and Craig (1996) found that fitness test tend to adversely affect female
cadets. For example, 93% of males passed the physical fitness test while only 28% of females
passed. However, police officers often engage in less physically demanding activities like
walking, sitting, and standing (Anderson, Plecas, & Segger, 2001; Maher 1984).
However, a gender-norming physically fitness test is a non-discriminatory approach that
can be used for mitigating the exclusionary effects of physical fitness tests on female police
applicants (Alspaugh v. Law Enforcement Standards Commission, 2001). Law enforcement
agencies can also ensure that physical fitness align with job-related responsibilities (U.S.
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 27
Department of Justice, 2009). Nonetheless, Schuck (2014) found that law enforcement agencies
with no physical fitness screening criteria had higher levels of female officer representation.
Sexual harassment. Research suggests sexual harassment represents another barrier that
may impact female cadets and police officers (Haas, Timmerman, & Hoing, 2009; Hassell et al.,
2011; Somvadee & Morash, 2008). Sexual harassment refers to the,
Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical
conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or
implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an
individual's work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work
environment. (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2009b, para. 2)
Haas, Timmerman, and Hoing (2009) found that 77% of female police officers in 35 different
countries encountered sexual harassment. Sexual harassment in police agencies might include
propositions for sexual favors and sexist material, jokes, stories, and comments (Somvadee &
Morash, 2008). Personal effects of sexual harassment can include health problems and
psychological problems (Thompson, Kirk & Brown, 2006). Often, psychological problems are
manifested in physical problems, or what has more commonly been referred to as the psychology
of physical symptoms (Pennebaker, 1982). However, the effects can also be organizational
because they can prevent female integration into the police agency (Hassell et al., 2011).
Clark and Estes Gap Analysis Conceptual Framework
Before the SCLEA can increase woman law enforcement officers, weaknesses within the
process of recruiting and hiring police officers must be identified. Clark and Estes’ (2008) gap
analysis model conceptually underpins this study and helps to identify such weakness or gaps in
terms of three separate but nonetheless interdependent components. These components of the
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 28
gap analysis model include knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences on stakeholder
performance toward achieving the goal of increasing the recruitment and hiring of female police.
The stakeholders in this study include personnel in the human resources department at the
SCLEA. One of the main responsibilities of the human resources department is the recruitment
and hiring of law enforcement officers. One of the SCLEA’s organizational goals is to increase
the number of female police officers. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the human resources
department to recruit and hire more female police officers to maintain alignment with the
SCLEA’s organizational goal of better representing the community served in terms of gender.
To increase the number of female law enforcement officers at the SCLEA, it is imperative to
identify gaps in the knowledge and motivation of human resource personnel (i.e., stakeholders)
and the organizational barriers that prevents this stakeholder group from attaining the
organizational goal and mission of gender proportionality at the SCLEA.
Knowledge Influences
Determining if the participating stakeholders possess the necessary knowledge about
recruiting and hiring female police officers is important to achieve the organizational goal.
Therefore, the first element of the KMO gap analysis model is knowledge influences. Indeed,
Clarke and Estes (2008) suggest that people are frequently oblivious to their own lack of
knowledge. When people are unaware of their knowledge deficiencies, it can cause gaps
between their actual performance and their desired performance (Clarke & Estes, 2008).
Knowledge influences include both declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge, and
stakeholders must possess both to help achieve their organization’s goals (Krathwohl, 2002).
Table 2 illustrates the relationship between the SCLEA mission and organizational goal,
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 29
stakeholder responsibility, assumed knowledge influences, types, and knowledge assessment in
terms of both declarative and procedural knowledge, which are discussed below.

Table 2.
Knowledge Influences, Types, and Assessments for the Organizational Goal
SCLEA Mission
SCLEA’s organizational mission is to follow constitutional and ethical standards to maintain
public order and prevent crime by working in partnership with the community, so as to create
a peaceful community for all citizens.
SCLEA Goal
To better represent the gender diversity of the local community, SCLEA’s organizational goal
is to increase the number of female police officers from 13.95% to 20% by 2020.
Stakeholder Responsibility
The stakeholders’ responsibility (i.e., human resources department) is to increase the number
of female police officers at the SCLEA through targeted recruitment and hiring activities.
Knowledge Influence Knowledge Type Knowledge Influence
Assessment
• Recruiters need to know
the challenges and
barriers to recruiting and
hiring more women into
law enforcement.
• Declarative
(factual)
• Interviews to demonstrate
knowledge
• Responses to interview
questions to gauge
knowledge
• Document analysis
• Recruiters need to know
how to address the
challenges to recruiting
more women into law
enforcement.
• Declarative
(conceptual)
• Interviews to demonstrate
knowledge
• Responses to interview
questions to gauge
knowledge
• Document analysis
• Recruiters need to know
how to address the
challenges to recruiting
more women into law
enforcement.
• Procedural • Interviews to demonstrate
knowledge
• Responses to interview
questions to gauge
knowledge
• Document analysis

Declarative knowledge. Declarative knowledge is the knowledge of facts about a topic.
It is made up of two different types of factually based information, including both factual
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 30
knowledge and conceptual knowledge. Krathwohl (2002) suggests that factual knowledge
includes basic facts and terminology that provide a foundation related to understanding some
topic of interests, while Krathwohl (2002) suggests that conceptual knowledge employs factual
knowledge to understand how concepts and underlying principles are related.
Human resources personnel must possess declarative knowledge of the recruiting and
hiring police, generally, and related to women, in particular. In terms of factual knowledge,
stakeholders must possess an understanding of basic concepts and facts and figures. For
instance, according to Helldorfer (2016), stakeholders should understand concepts like
recruiting, hiring, gender disproportionality, discrimination, physical fitness, and sexual
harassment. They must know what marketing is and the different forms that marketing can take
to recruit law enforcement applicants (e.g., flyers, newspaper ads), among other things; Milgram,
2005). In addition, they must also know how many males and females are in the both law
enforcement agency and in the local community. In terms of conceptual knowledge,
stakeholders must understand that the aforementioned concepts relate to each other at an
underlying level in terms of recruiting and hiring female law enforcement. For instance,
education level, physical fitness, testing requirements, and the type of policing employed by a
law enforcement agency (e.g., community policing) can influence the type of potential applicants
who apply to become law enforcement or police officers and their success rate at the police
academy and as a police officer (U.S. Department of Justice, 2009).
Procedural knowledge. Procedural knowledge is having the knowledge of the necessary
procedures for carry out a specific task (Hiebert & Lefevre, 1986). Hiebert and Lefevre (1986)
suggest that this procedural knowledge includes the method involved in carrying out a task.
While declarative knowledge establishes a foundational and low-level understanding of a topic,
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 31
procedural knowledge operationalizes that knowledge to systematically carry out a task toward
achieving the goals of an organization (Krathwohl, 2002).
Human resources personnel must possess procedural knowledge of the process for
recruiting and hiring law enforcement officers, generally, and women police officers, in
particular. According to Birzer and Craig (1996), recruiting and hiring personnel should design
the process of physical fitness testing in a manner that does not adversely affect women police
candidates. For instance, human resources personnel can design different physical fitness
procedures that can be used separately for males and females. Alspaugh v. Law Enforcement
Standards Commission (2001) referred to this procedural process as gender-norming.
Additionally, human resources personnel must have a procedural understanding of how the
marketing process connects to the recruiting, selection, and training process (Milgram, 2005;
Sanders, 2008; U.S. Department of Justice, 2009; White & Escobar, 2008; Wilson, 2016).
Motivational Influences
While stakeholders may possess the necessary declarative and procedural knowledge,
they must also possess the motivation to accomplishing the organization’s mission. Therefore,
the second element in the gap analysis model is motivational influences because knowledge is
rendered meaningless unless one possesses adequate motivation to carry out and complete a task.
Clarke and Estes (2008) suggest that motivation is a unique psychological system. While
knowledge provides the direction, motivation provides the get-up-and go. That is, motivation is
a central driver as to whether an individual starts and finishes a task (Clarke & Estes, 2008;
Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011). Motivational influences include both self-efficacy and task value.
Table 3 illustrates the relationship between the SCLEA mission, organizational goal, stakeholder
responsibility in achieving this goal, assumed motivational influences, and motivational
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 32
influences in terms of self-efficacy and task value related to the recruiting and hiring of women
police officers are discussed in the two sections below.

Table 3.
Motivational Influences and Assessments for the Organizational Goal
SCLEA Mission
SCLEA’s organizational mission is to follow constitutional and ethical standards to maintain
public order and prevent crime by working in partnership with the community, so as to create
a peaceful community for all citizens.
SCLEA Goal
To better represent the gender diversity of the local community, SCLEA’s organizational goal
is to increase the number of female police officers from 13.95% to 20% by 2020.
Stakeholder Responsibility
The stakeholders’ responsibility (i.e., human resources department) is to increase the number
of female police officers at the SCLEA through targeted recruitment and hiring activities.
Motivation Influence Motivation Type Motivation Influence
Assessment
• Recruiters need to see the
value in recruiting and
hiring more women law
enforcement officers.
• Task Value • Interview to demonstrate
motivation
• Responses to interview
questions to gauge
motivation
• Document analysis
• Recruiters need to have the
self-efficacy or feel
confident and believe they
are capable of recruiting and
hiring more women law
enforcement officers.
• Self-Efficacy • Interview to demonstrate
motivation
• Responses to interview
questions to gauge
motivation
• Document analysis

Self-efficacy. Bandura (2000) and Pajares (2006) suggest that self-efficacy is an
individual’s belief in having the capacity to achieve a particular goal. This belief is inextricably
tethered to motivation because an individual who has a positive belief about their ability to
successfully accomplish a goal, may likely be more motivated to engage in the necessary
procedure required to achieve that goal (Rueda, 2011). Pajares (2006) suggests that an
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 33
individual’s self-efficacy is perceptually based on how they evaluate themself. Factors like
education and training are key components to developing positive self-efficacy and leading to
one’s overall belief in the ability to successfully accomplish a goal (Pajares, 2006).
Human resources personnel must not only have the knowledge required for
understanding the recruitment and hiring process but this stakeholder group must also have the
motivation to make improvements by addressing deficiencies that limit the recruitment and
hiring of female police officers. Stakeholders must possess a positive belief in their ability to
change and improve recruiting and hiring practices at the SCLEA. Human resource personnel
who lack knowledge of barriers that deter women from becoming police officers may not be
confident in their ability to change recruiting and hiring practices. They may not know that,
although both males and females become police officers for similar reasons (Dodge & Valcore,
2011), including benefits, retirement, job security, and excitement (Raganella & White, 2004),
women experience a unique set of barriers that can imped one’s ability to increase the number of
female officers. Some barriers include gender discrimination (Hassell at al., 2011; Rabe-Hemp,
2011), physical fitness (Birzer & Craig, 1996; U.S. Department of Justice, 2009), and sexual
harassment (Haas et al., 2009; Hassell et al., 2011; Somvadee & Morash, 2008). By failing to
address these problems, human resource personal may not possess the necessary self-effect to
make the police more gender balanced (Raganella & White, 2004).
Task value. Task value is an important aspect of the expectancy value theory of
motivation. Eccles (2006) suggests that the value an individual ascribes to the completion of a
task may take four different forms, include intrinsic value, attainment value, utility value, and
cost value. Eccles describes intrinsic value as the enjoyment a person receives when engaging in
a task. Attainment value refers to the value an individual attaches to a task as a reflection of their
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 34
identity. Utility value refers to the contribution and relevance of completing a task to achieving
some larger goal. And, cost value refers to the resources like time and money required for
engaging in and/or completing a task. Although all four aspects of task value impact the
motivation of stakeholders in different ways, utility value complements self-efficacy because it
helps connect the belief in one’s ability to complete a task to that person’s desire and the
contribution of the task toward achieving the organizational goal (Eccles, 2006).
Human resource personnel must not only have the knowledge required for understanding
the recruitment and hiring process and the necessary self-efficacy or belief in their ability to
complete a task, but this stakeholder group must also be motivated in a manner where they see
the connection between their work and its relevance and contribution increasing the number of
female police officers. Driven by the desire of gender diversity, human resource personnel at
law enforcement agencies have made many inroads during the modern era of policing to increase
female law enforcement officers (Schuck, 2014). Much of this success has been tied to
community policing (Prenzler & Sinclair, 2013; Rabe-Hemp, 2008, 2011). Human resources
personnel have driven changes to increase female law enforcement officers through community
policing by, for example, adopting gender-normed physically fitness tests (Schuck, 2014; U.S.
Department of Justice, 2009) and marketing strategies that emphasize women or gender diversity
(Jordon et al., 2009; Milgram, 2005; U.S. Department of Justice, 2009; Wilson et al., 2013).
Organizational Influences
The organizational culture may influence both stakeholders’ knowledge and motivation,
and stakeholders’ knowledge and motivation may in turn influence organizational culture (Clark
& Estes, 2008). Schein (1985) defines organizational culture as “A pattern of shared basic
assumptions learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 35
integration” (p. 12). An organization’s culture includes both the cultural model and the cultural
setting (Clark & Estes, 2008). Both cultural model and cultural setting are discussed in the
sections below, making organizational culture the third element of the gap analysis model.
Table 3 illustrates the SCLEA mission and organizational goal, stakeholder responsibility, and
assumed organizational influences and organizational influence assessment.

Table 4.
Organizational Influences and Assessments for the Organizational Goal
Organizational Mission
SCLEA’s organizational mission is to follow constitutional and ethical standards to maintain
public order and prevent crime by working in partnership with the community, so as to create
a peaceful community for all citizens.
Organizational Goal
To better represent the gender diversity of the local community, SCLEA’s organizational goal
is to increase the number of female police officers from 13.95% to 20% by 2020.
Stakeholder Responsibility
The stakeholders’ responsibility (i.e., human resources department) is to increase the number
of female police officers at the SCLEA through targeted recruitment and hiring activities.
Organizational Influences Organization Influence Assessment
• The organization needs to clearly
communicate the value of diversity
within the organization.
• Interview to demonstrate organizational
understanding
• Responses to interview questions to gauge
organizational understanding
• Review of organizational documents
• The organization needs to implement
accountability policies and procedures to
increase the diversity.
• Interview to demonstrate organizational
understanding
• Responses to interview questions to gauge
organizational understanding
• Review of organizational documents

Cultural influences. The cultural theory of an organization refers to the shared values,
beliefs, attitudes that are generally automated and invisible within an organization, guiding the
organization’s structure and how the organization functions and its role in the world (Rueda,
2011). The cultural setting of an organization refers to the visible, concrete manifestations of
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 36
cultural models that visibly appear within an organization’s cultural activity settings (Clark &
Estes, 2008). Human resources personnel must be cognizant of both the organization’s cultural
setting influence and the organization’s cultural model influence on the recruitment and hiring of
women law enforcement officers. These influences, however, are not independent and static of
each other, but rather the cultural model and the cultural setting are inextricable tied together,
influencing each other and knowledge and motivation (Rueda, 2011).
Stakeholder factors. Organizational culture drives the social structure of an organization
(Kautz, Pedersen, & Monrad, 2009) and serves as a force in the performance of work (Clark &
Estes, 2008). Law enforcement agencies have traditionally had hierarchal and paramilitary
organizational structures (Chapell & Lanza-Kaduce, 2010), where male officers have been
shown to display negative attitudes toward women (Franklin, 2005; Shelley, Morabito, Tobin-
Gurley, 2011), assign women gender-specific duties (Hassell et al., 2011; Rabe-Hemp, 2011).
However, law enforcement agencies that promote a culture based on community policing tend to
have higher levels of female police and law enforcement officers (Schuck, 2014). Human
resources personnel should examine internal conditions and practices that may hinder the
recruitment and hiring of female police officers (Dineen & Soltis, 2011).
Integrated Conceptual Framework
While the influences have each been separately described and supported empirically, the
influences are not isolated. Rather, they work in an integrated fashion. Figure 2 illustrates how
organizational influences, knowledge, and motivation element interrelate and work together to
achieve the desired organizational outcome for stakeholders (Clarke & Estes, 2008).
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 37

Figure 2. Gap analytic framework for recruiting and hiring female police officers.

This gap analytic framework helps identify and categorize data according to knowledge,
motivation, and organizational elements related to recruiting and hiring female police officers.
The assumptions of the conceptual framework suggest linkages between desired performance
outcomes (i.e., increase the number of female police officers) and potential barriers and solutions
in terms of the organization, knowledge, and motivational elements. It is important to note that
organizational influences also encompass both knowledge influences and motivation influences.
Yet, knowledge influences and motivation influences overlap within the larger cultural or
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 38
organizational environment. Without supporting organizational or cultural influence, knowledge
and motivation may not be enough to achieve and sustain the organizational goal and fulfill the
organizational mission (Clarke & Estes, 2008). Hence, the conceptual framework illustrates that
knowledge, motivation, and organizational elements must work in a mutually supporting and
interconnected way to accomplish the organizational goal. Gaps in any three of the elements
creates a hole and may lead to an organization’s failure to achieve its stated goal.
Summary
This chapter reviewed previous research on the recruiting and hiring of female law
enforcement to better understand barriers and influences to increase women police officers by
personnel in SCLEA’s human resources department. This chapter also reviewed information
regarding the representation of women and history of women in law enforcement. Then the
literature was examined on recruiting and hiring female law enforcement, especially related to
candidate and officers’ qualification, police agency marketing and recruitment outreach, and
motivation for joining law enforcement. The barriers preventing women from joining or
contributing to their attribution were then discussed, including gender discrimination, physical
fitness, and sexual harassment. Clark and Estes (2008) gap analytic conceptual framework was
discussed to organize the barriers and influences to increasing female police into knowledge,
motivation, and organizational elements through the presentation of a conceptual diagram.

RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 39
III. METHOD
This chapter presents the methodology used for this research project. The research design
is first discussed before discussing the participants and how they were selected. Then, the
methods used for data collection (i.e., interviews and organizational documents) are reviewed.
The data analysis process is then discussed before the positionality statement. The
trustworthiness used to ensure confidence in the findings is reviewed. Lastly, the ethical
standards followed while conducting this research project are discussed.
Research Design
This study was based on a qualitative research design. Qualitative research can provide
an in-depth understanding of organizational problems (Creswell, 2013; Merriam, 2009; Saldaña,
2016; Strauss & Corbin, 1990, 1994, 1998). This design was used to examine data, including
interviews and organizational documents (Creswell, 2013; Merriam, 2009). Strauss and Corbin’s
(1998) constant comparative method was used to analysis interview data. This approach was
used for inductively generating meaning from multiple sources of textual data: interview
transcripts and organizational documents. Descriptive statistics were used to address the first
research question concerning the number of female police officers longitudinally at the SCLEA.
Participating Stakeholders
I interviewed six participants. These participants were selected using a purposive,
stakeholder sampling technique (Palys, 2008). Palys (2008) suggests “purposive sampling
signifies … a series of strategic choices about with who, where, and how one does one’s
research. This statement implies that the way that researchers sample must be tied to their
objectives” (p. 697). The objective of this study was to increase the number of female police
officers at the SCLEA. To achieve this objective, stakeholder sampling was used because it
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 40
“involves identifying who the major stakeholders are who are involved in designing, giving,
receiving, or administering the program or service being evaluated” (Palys, 2008, p. 697).
The stakeholders responsible for recruiting and hiring police officers at the SCLEA are
personnel in the human resources department (HRD) at the SCLEA. The organizational
structure of the human resources department includes a captain (i.e., executive manager),
lieutenant (i.e., middle manager), sergeant (i.e., supervisor), officers, and civilian administrators.
The captain establishes the HRD’s objectives based on the organizational needs determined by
vacancies, budget considerations, and directives from the organization’s leader. The lieutenant,
who serves as the executive officer, implements the plan of action by coordinating with the
supervising sergeant. The sergeant oversees daily operations to ensure that individual duties and
tasks are aligned with the overarching objectives of the HRD. The performance of HRD, or lack
thereof, is the balance between achieving the organizational goal to fill all vacant positions and
the organizational goal of filling such vacancies with qualified, diverse candidates.
Table 5 displays both the sampling criteria and the rationale for selecting the six HRD
participates. Sampling criteria were designed to select employees from the HRD to understand
the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences on the recruitment and hiring process
of women law enforcement officers at the SCLEA. However, the sampling criteria did not
exclude participants because of demographic factors like gender, age, race, and/or position (i.e.,
rank) in the organization. Variations in participants’ demographic factors were allowed because
different people are collectively responsible for recruiting and hiring female officers. Had this
study been about the experiences of female police officers, demographic factors would have been
included in the sampling criteria. Participant variations help highlight how the individual
perspectives of this stakeholder group converge because of organizational practices in the
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 41
recruitment and hiring process. The low number of women police officers is an organizational
problem that could persist as human resource personnel are promoted, hired, fired, or retire.

Table 5.

Sampling Criteria and Rationale for Selecting Participants

Criteria Sampling Criteria Selection Rationale
Criterion #1 • Employed at
SCLEA
• To meet this criterion for participation, each participant
must be employed by the SCLEA.
Criterion #2 • Responsibilities
must include
recruiting and
hiring new
employees
• To meet this criterion for participation, each participant
must have a current or past, full-time, responsibility for
recruiting and hiring new police officer candidates at the
Employee Resources Division.
Criterion #3 • Experience
recruiting and
hiring for at least
two years
• To meet this criterion for participation, each participant
must have at least two years of experience working in
recruitment and hiring within the Employee Resources
Division of the SCLEA.

Data Collection
Data collection included interviews and organizational documents (Creswell, 2013;
Merriam, 2009). Participants were verbally recruited to participate in this study and were
screened based on the sampling criteria presented in Table 5. Merriam (2009) suggests that
interviews help to provide an in-depth, personalized understanding of thoughts and behaviors.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted to allow participants to express themselves in a way
that provided a platform for unexpected, unsolicited details that may be meaningful to the
problem of practice but not initially thought of beforehand by the interviewer (Maxwell, 2013).
These semi-structured interviews were conducted to understand the knowledge, motivations, and
organizational influences on the recruitment and hiring of female police officers at the SCLEA
(Clarke & Estes, 2008; Merriam, 2009). An interview protocol was developed and used to
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 42
interview participants (see Appendix A). This protocol documented the date, time, location,
duration, interviewee, and interviewer. The semi-structured interviews took place in an empty
room at the SCLEA and lasted approximately 30 min. The interviews were guided by 13
questions parsed into three sections to account for the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
elements. The knowledge section had four questions; the motivations section had five questions;
and, the organizational section had four questions. Interviews were recorded with verbal
permission from each participant using the iPhone 6, Voice Memos app.
The second type of data collected was organizational documents. Documents provide a
stable, ongoing record of what has occurred in the organization regarding the recruitment and
hiring process of law enforcement personnel (Bowen, 2009). For this study, I collected
documents from both inside the organization and outside the organization. Documents collected
internally included memorandums, policy and procedure manuals or operating guidelines,
protocols, emails, mission statement, training materials, performance expectations, and hiring
data. Internal hiring data were obtained from three different years, including 2014, 2016, and
2018. Documents collected externally included print and electronic media, social media posts,
recruitment flyers, and advertisements. These documents were considered along with the
interviews to provide a holistic understanding of the recruiting and hiring of female officers.
Data Analysis
Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method (Strauss & Corbin, 1998;
Saldaña, 2016). Data included interviews and organizational documents. Recorded interviews
were transcribed. Transcriptions were double-checked for accuracy before being analyzed using
the constant comparative method. The constant comparative method was used to inductively
translate textual data into meaningful themes following three stages of coding aimed at
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 43
answering the research questions (Merriam, 1998; Corbin & Strauss, 1990): open coding, axial
coding, and selective coding. (Corbin & Strauss, 1990). First, open coding was conducted to
generate tentative labels based on phrases and sentences. Second, axial coding was used to
group the open codes together. Lastly, selective coding was used to collapse axial codes into
meaningful categories that address the research questions (Marriam, 2009).
Credibility and Trustworthiness
Trustworthiness describes the level of confidence that one can have in a research project
(Merriam, 2009). It is constituted by four different constructs: credibility, transferability,
dependability, and confirmability (Gruba, 1981). Credibility refers to the congruence of the
findings to reality (Merriam, 2009). To ensure credibility, data findings were triangulated among
the participants interviewed and the organizational documents. Moreover, an examination of
previous research was conducted to “assess the degree to which the project’s results are
congruent with those of past studies” (Shenton, 2004, p. 69). Transferability refers to the “extent
to which the findings of one study can be applied to other situations” (Merriam, 2009, p. 223).
To ensure transferability, thick description was “provided to allow readers to have a proper
understanding of it, thereby enabling them to compare the instances of the phenomenon
described in the research report with those that they have seen emerge in their situations”
(Shenton, 2004, p. 70). However, because the sample size was small and not randomly selected,
transferability is limited. The dependability of the results refers to whether the “findings of a
study are consistent with the data presented” (Merriam, 2009, p. 222). This dependability was
achieved by describing the research design and process for sampling, data collection, and data
analysis. Confirmability refers to the assurance that the “findings are the result of the
experiences and ideas of the informants, rather than the characteristics and preferences of the
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 44
researcher” (Shenton, 2004, p. 72). Triangulation helped “reduce the effect of investigator bias”
by ensuring the findings were consisted among the participants (also Shenton, 2004, p. 72).
Positionality
In qualitative research, the researcher is the “instrument of data collection, analysis, and
interpretation” (Wubbena, 2017, p. 467). Therefore, as a qualitative researcher, it is imperative
that I “make my positionality explicit by recursively examining, questioning, and explaining the
potential influence of my past experiences on the research process” (p. 467). I am a male law
enforcement officer. I was appointed Chief of Police for the Upland Police Department, a large
law enforcement agency, in 2018. This position as a chief law enforcement officer may have
influenced the stakeholder responses because of my higher rank. Prior to assuming this role, I
was a Captain for the SCLEA before retiring after nearly 27 years of service. I am a strong
advocate of community policing, and I regularly facilitate community forums to engage citizens
and increase stakeholder involvement. In 2013, I assumed command of the SCLEA Regional
Training Center, where I was responsible for managing all of the Peace Officers Standards and
Training mandates for the department’s sworn officers, which included firearms, emergency
vehicle operations, and basic academy training. I was also responsible for curriculum
development and delivery for professional training of the department’s sworn officers, civilian
staff, and many police agencies throughout the region. When I was in this position, I first
realized the importance of recruiting and hiring a gender diverse police force.
Ethics
This study adhered to ethical standards promoted by the American Psychological
Association and was granted approval by the university Institutional Review Board (IRB; see
Appendix B). Full disclosure of the research project’s intended purpose was provided to each
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 45
participant (Glesne, 2011). Each participant was required to submit a signed consent form (see
Appendix C). Each participant was also verbally informed that participation in the research
project was voluntary and they could withdraw at any time and for any reason. Moreover, each
participant’s information was kept confidential, and a pseudonym was used for each participant
and the law enforcement agency. Permission was provided for interview audio recordings.
These recordings were then transcribed. Participants were provided the opportunity to review
the transcriptions to ensure the accuracy of their responses. Participants did not receive payment,
monetary or otherwise, in exchange for participation. Lastly, to understand my personal interest
in a gender diverse police force and the potential influence of my background on the research
process, I have disclosed my positionality as a career law enforcement officer.
Summary
This chapter detailed the participants, data collection, data analysis, trustworthiness, and
ethics involved in designing and carrying out this research project. The participants included six
individuals from SCLEA’s human resources department. Data collection included interviews
and organizational documents. Data were qualitatively analyzed using the constant comparative
method. Steps were taken to ensure the trustworthiness of the findings, including triangulating
data and findings among the six interviews conducted with the participants. IRB ethical
standards were followed while conducting the research project. The next chapter presents the
findings to address the research questions posed in the introductory chapter.
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 46
IV. FINDINGS
The purpose of this qualitative study was to evaluate the degree to which the SCLEA has
been achieving its goal of increasing the number of female police officers. A modified gap
analysis framework aimed at organizational change underpinned this study. In this chapter, the
participating stakeholders are first discussed because they are the individuals responsible for
recruiting and hiring law enforcement personnel, especially women police officers, before
presenting the current state of employed personnel at the SCLEA. This current state provides a
baseline from which future organizational change can be measured. Next, the knowledge,
motivation, and organizational element are discussed to address the three research questions:
• What knowledge influences affect stakeholders’ practices in terms of recruiting and
hiring of female police officers?
• What motivational influences affect stakeholders’ practices in terms of recruiting and
hiring of female police officers?
• What organizational influences affect stakeholders’ practices in terms of recruiting
and hiring of female police officers?
Lastly, this chapter concludes with a brief summary of the finding.
Participating Stakeholders
A total of six (33%) out of 18 personnel from the human resource department at the
SCLEA participated in this study. The participants included one executive manager, three
supervisors, and two officers/civilian administrators. These individuals were responsible for
recruiting and screening potential applicants and hiring police candidates to attend the police
academy. The experiences of the participants ranged from three to 13 years with the mean
number being 7.6 years of public service. Three participants were female, and three participants
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 47
were male. These participants represented three different positions in the human resource
department ranging from the highest level to the lowest level in the human resource hierarchy.
Their different positions provided different perspectives of the problem under study. I will refer
to the participants by their participant ID (e.g., Participant 1, Participant 2).

Table 6.
Demographic Information of Participating Stakeholders

Participant ID Position

Gender

Human Resource
Experience
Participant 1 Executive Manager (Captain) Male 13 Years
Participant 2 Supervisor (Sergeant) Male 5 Years
Participant 3 Supervisor (Sergeant) Female 11 Years
Participant 4 Supervisor (Sergeant) Male 3 Years
Participant 5 Officer (Staff) Female 6 Years
Participant 6 Civilian Administrators (Staff) Female 8 Years

To what extent is the SCLEA meeting its goal of increasing female police officers? One
of the primary responsibilities of the participating stakeholders who work in the human resources
department at the SCLEA is the recruitment and hiring of law enforcement officers. Therefore,
to achieve the organizational goal of increasing the number of women police officers through
recruitment and hiring efforts, it is important to establish a baseline from which organizational
change and improvement can be measured. Figure 3 shows a comparison between the number of
male and female law enforcement personnel employed at the SCLEA from 2014 to 2018.
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 48

Figure 3. Longitudinal representation of males and females at the SCLEA (2014-2018).

There were 1,573 (85.86%) male law enforcement officers at the SCLEA in 2014. In
2018, there were 1,704 (86.37%) male law enforcement officers. This finding suggests an 8.33%
increase in the number of male law enforcement officers since 2014. This 8.33% increase
translates into an increase of 131 male law enforcement officers. While males represent 86.37%
of the law enforcement population at SCLEA, males represent 49.8% of the country population
(U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). In other words, while less than half of the U.S. population is male,
the SCLEA is almost completely composed of male law enforcement officers.
At the SCLEA, there exist a disproportionate number of male law enforcement officers
compared to female law enforcement officers. For instance, there were 257 (14.04%) female law
enforcement officers in 2014. In 2018, there were 269 (13.63%) female law enforcement
officers. Although there was an increase in female law enforcement officers of 4.67%, from 257
to 269, the overall percentage of female law enforcement officers at the SCLEA dropped from
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 49
14.04% in 2014 to 13.64% in 2018. Although female law enforcement officers represent only
13.64% of the police force population in 2018, they represented 50.2% of the entire female
population living in Bernard County (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). While there was an increase
in male police officers from 85.86%, to 86.37%, there was a decrease in female police officers
from 14.04% to 13.63%. Hence, female officers are underrepresented in the SCLEA.
Knowledge Findings
The first research question asked: What knowledge influences affect stakeholders’
practices in terms of recruiting and hiring of female police officers? This research question
provides insight into stakeholders’ knowledge about the recruitment and hiring of women police
officers. Findings are based on stakeholder interviews and organizational documents.
Knowledge is a crucial element for whether or not an organization achieves its stated goal
(Clark & Estes, 2008). One goal at the SCLEA is to increase the number of women police
officers. The department responsible for increasing the number of women police officers at the
SCLEA is the human resources department. Therefore, the participating stakeholders in this
study included individuals who work in the human resources department. These individuals
were interviewed about their knowledge of the recruitment and hiring of women law
enforcement officers. There were two main types of knowledge examined: declarative
knowledge (i.e., factual knowledge and conceptual knowledge) and procedural knowledge.
Declarative Knowledge
Declarative knowledge includes both factual knowledge and conceptual knowledge.
Factual knowledge exists at a very basic level of thinking, whereas conceptual knowledge
employs factual knowledge to gain a relational understanding among concepts (Krathwohl,
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 50
2002). Participants discussed their declarative knowledge (i.e., factual knowledge and
conceptual knowledge) of the recruitment and hiring of law enforcement officers at the SCLEA.
Findings suggested that the participating stakeholders interviewed for this study had
declarative knowledge of the recruitment and hiring of law enforcement officers at the SCLEA.
For example, one participant stated:
We follow a textbook definition of recruitment and of hiring. This is the bread and butter
of what we do. Recruiting is outreach. We have needs. We have demands. Hiring
demands. How those demands come about is above my pay grade but recruiting involves
general outreach efforts. Some people come to us… but you know the media, the news
have been harsh for us lately. That makes the task of recruiting even more important. But
like I said, this is what we do: visiting schools, putting flyers out, getting kids interested
from a young age, but also kids graduating from college… leveraging popular and
positive images of police from movies.
And, another participant stated:
Hiring is extremely important. It’s a filtering process. Recruiting is like throwing a
fishing net in the water. Hiring is a different story. All the fishes that are too small don’t
get caught in the net. …. like those who aren’t qualified or don’t have what it takes [to
become police officers]. The hiring process starts by assessing those who got caught in
the net. Not all will make it, but they at least get considered.
The above quotes from the participants interviewed from the human resource department capture
the declarative knowledge of the recruitment and hiring. The first participant defines recruiting
and hiring while the second participant makes a relational connection among concepts.
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 51
But, how does this declarative knowledge apply to the recruitment and hiring of women,
in particular. Another participant argued:
Whether you’re a woman or man, recruiting and hiring is pretty similar. Both go through
the same process, but we’ve been trying to rethink this process for, you know, the
community-policing model we’ve been moving to.
This participant’s response suggests that declarative forms of knowledge are equally applicable
to the recruitment and hiring of both women and men. But, how that factual and conceptual
knowledge gets applied requires a procedurally understanding.
Procedural Knowledge
The second type of knowledge examined was participating stakeholders’ procedural
knowledge of the recruitment and hiring of law enforcement officers at the SCLEA, in general,
and women police officers, in particular. Procedural knowledge pertains to the procedures and
the rules required for performing specific, job-related tasks (Clark & Estes, 2008).
There appeared to be a general lack of procedural knowledge when it pertained to gender-
specific recruitment and hiring practices for women applicants and candidates:
I’m sure there are differences but I can’t put my finger on them. I don’t have the
vocabulary or knowledge. I have an idea but I don’t know how it will actually look. We
will need to differentiate if we’re going to increase the number of women police. But
how and what that will look like are things we’re still working through.
This finding suggests that stakeholders had the necessary knowledge to recruit and hire female
law enforcement officers at the SCLEA. However, although the stakeholders who were
interviewed expressed they have been successful in the recruitment and hiring in the current
organizational environment, they were not able to fully actualize that knowledge. Participating
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 52
stakeholders expressed an understanding of declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge
used for recruitment and hiring in the current organizational environment, but procedural
knowledge will need to be improved as the organizational environment changes to accommodate
gender-specific recruitment and hiring practices at the SCLEA.
Motivational Findings
The second research question asked: What motivational influences affect stakeholders’
practices in terms of recruiting and hiring of female police officers? This research question
provides insight into stakeholders’ motivations about the recruitment and hiring of women police
officers. Findings are based on stakeholder interviews and organizational documents.
Motivation helps individuals begin, persist, and complete a task (Mayer, 2011; Rueda,
2011). Motivation is crucial element for whether or not an organization achieves its stated goal
(Clark & Estes, 2008). The goal of this study was to understand how to increase the number of
women police officers in the SCLEA. The stakeholder group included individuals from
SCLEA’s human resources department. Participants were interviewed to better understand their
motivation about recruitment and hiring of women police officers. While the previous section
discussed stakeholder knowledge in terms of declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge,
this section discusses the role of motivation in terms of self-efficacy and task value.
Self-Efficacy
The first motivational influence examined was self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the belief in
one’s capacity to achieve a particular goal (Bandura, 2000; Pajares, 2006). This belief is
connected to motivation because positive beliefs about achieving a goal makes it more likely that
a person will engage in the necessary work required to achieve that goal (Rueda, 2011).
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 53
An important aspect of self-efficacy is an individual’s ability to self-evaluate (Pajares,
2006). One participant illustrated her self-efficacy through self-evaluation stating,
[W]e’ve been trying to rethink this process for, you know, the community-policing model
we’ve been moving to. We need training. I don’t know what I don’t know. While there
are many similarities between recruiting between hiring for males and females, the
process, you know, there are also differences and we need to make those differences
explicit. It’s in the difference that we will change our practices and achieve our goal.
But, like I said, we need education. We need more training. But, we can do it. I’m sure.
This interview response illustrates an example that stakeholders possessed a positive belief in
their ability to change and improve the recruiting and hiring practices at the SCLEA. This
positive belief for change is tied to continuous improvement through training and education.
Another participant made one difference between males and female explicit by stating:
I’m not going to lie. We’re living in a culture where this stuff won’t be tolerated. You
know what I’m talking about, right? We don’t tolerate it. But, we have to know about it
in order to do something about it. And, we’re actively working to curb it.
This interview response suggests that this participant was aware of issues that affect women in
law enforcement. Although not stated explicitly, this response was likely referring to things like
gender discrimination or sexual harassment. This participant was optimistic about addressing
barriers to women joining and persisting in the law enforcement profession.
Task Value
The second motivational influence examined was task value. Task value refers to the
contribution and relevance of completing a task to achieving some larger goal (Eccles, 2006).
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 54
Not only must people believe in their ability to complete a task (i.e., self-efficacy), but they must
also value that task as a contributing force to achieving an organizational goal.
One participant illustrated the importance of addressing barriers that have traditionally
preventing women from either joining or continue to serve as police officers by stating:
We’re living in a culture where this stuff won’t be tolerated. You know what I’m talking
about, right? We don’t tolerate it. But, we have to know about it in order to do
something about it. And, we’re actively working to curb it. We want change. But, that
change happens incrementally and it’s slow. We’re curbing it but not only not tolerating
it but we’re actively seeking it out and discussing it as a problem that won’t be tolerated.
This response illustrates the value of stopping sexual harassment to improve conditions and
remove barriers to women joining the law enforcement profession.
Another participant expressed the task value establishing systems to achieve the goal of
increasing the number of women police employed at the SCLEA by stating:
We have a well-oiled machine here. You know at the agency. The human resources
department. We have a system in place for recruiting and for hiring and it has worked
well for its stated purpose, especially to keep up with demand. As the county grows, we
grow. Unfortunately, our outreach efforts for recruiting and training were designed at a
different time and for a different need. Gender is on the agenda. Just look at the news of
the #MeToo movement. It’s crazy. Maybe a little scary, but maybe more of an
opportunity. They’re not taking it anymore. Neither are we here. [Our Chief] knows the
importance of community policing, and with that importance is trying to increase the
number of women … to make the agency more representative.
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 55
This except from a participant illustrates that stakeholders are aware and cognizant of the need to
increase women police at the agency. Stakeholder motivation was hindered by the
organizational influences discussed in the following section (i.e., Organizational Influences).
Organizational Findings
The third research question asked: What organizational influences affect stakeholders’
practices in terms of recruiting and hiring of female police officers? This research question
provides insight into organizational influences on the recruitment and hiring of women police
officers. Findings are based on stakeholder interviews and organizational documents.
Organizational culture can influence both stakeholders’ knowledge and stakeholders’
motivation toward achieving an organization’s goal (Clark & Estes, 2008). Organizational
influences include both the cultural model and the cultural setting of an organization.
Participants were interviewed to better understand organizational influences and barriers that
affect the recruitment and hiring of women police officers. While the previous sections
discussed stakeholder knowledge and their motivation, this section delves further into
organizational influences at the SCLEA (Rueda, 2011).
Interviews with stakeholder’s suggests that, although stakeholders have the knowledge
and motivation to increase the number of women police officers, they may still not be able to
increase the number of women police because of organizational barriers embedded within the
SCLEA organization. For instance, one participant stated:
Sometimes you know just what to do and just when to do it but you run up against a wall
and can’t do it. It’s not that you don’t care or don’t want to. You’re a gear in a clock, a
go in a wheel. All the gears must work together, or the organization stops. Our gear is
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 56
recruiting. Our gear is hiring. And we do it well but we also do it how it’s always been
done. Change must come from the top and be supported by the bottom.
This participant’s response suggests that efforts to increase the recruitment and hiring of women
police have been limited by barriers stemming from the top of the organizational hierarchy.
Interviews suggest that organizational barriers at the top of the organizational hierarchy
have prevented or hindered the recruitment and hiring of female police officers at the SCLEA.
These organizational barriers include institutionalized policies and procedures and the
recruitment and hiring practices that have been historically followed at the SCLEA.
The policies and procedures driving recruitment and hiring at the SCLEA appear to
conflict with the shared knowledge and motivation of stakeholders. For instance, one participant
stated, “I can’t just drop the fitness requirement. Say I did or could do that… if I left whoever
took my spot would go back to following the policies and procedures.” And, another participant
stated, “If the policies and procedures changed, we’d learn them… we might even design them.
And, we change how we do things.” Similarly, another participant noted, “We’d run things just
as good as we run them now, only we’d have a different focus. Not better or worse, just
different. That difference would be a more gender equal agency.”
Moreover, findings suggest that organizational policies and procedures represent a crucial
barrier to the recruitment and hiring of women police officers. As one participant stated, these
policies and procedures “drive when, how, and where individuals apply to the agency. The
process they go through during the initial screening as candidates.” In essence, policies and
procedures allow, “Different individuals at different times and different places arrive at the same
outcome. That outcome being meeting the agency demands for law enforcement based on the
agency and community needs,” stated another participant. However, the SCLEA “does not have
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 57
specific policies or procedures, for that matter, that address the recruiting and hiring needs of
women in the police force.” For instance, an excerpt from a hiring manual states, “All potential
candidates will be evaluated based on the same criteria irrespective of race or gender.” As
another participant expressed, “this [statement] is a perfect example of mandated gender
blindness that prevents the agency from increasing women police, which we know has nothing to
do with how good women police are ... in their policing work.” In this sense, the U.S.
Department of Justice (2009) suggests that law enforcement agencies should align physical
fitness with job-related responsibilities. And, gender-norming physical fitness tests, for instance,
is one non-discriminatory approach for mitigating the negative effects of physical fitness tests on
female applicants (Alspaugh v. Law Enforcement Standards Commission, 2001).
The organizational policies and procedures drive practices in the recruitment and hiring
of police officers. Because of this “gender blindness,” there are many practices that occur during
the recruitment and hiring process that deter, if not prevent, women from joining the force.
These practices include exercise and fitness and marketing. As one participant stated, “women
are held to the same fitness standards as men. This standard actually can be thought of as a type
of gender discrimination.” “We know women and men are physically different,” stated another
participant. But that doesn’t mean they’re less likely to be a good police officers … we know
many of the fitness requirement do not reflect actual police work.” For instance, Schuck (2014)
found that eliminating physical fitness screening increases the number of female officers.
Participants also express that marketing practices for recruitment potential applicants “follows a
legacy approach … kind of like the difference between traditional news media and social
media.” “We need to actively recruit using social media but for some reason there’s a hesitation
… we do passive recruiting … waiting for them to come to us. And that often is males from the
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 58
military,” stated another applicant. Policies and procedures and both fitness and marketing
embedded in SCLEA’s policies and procedures and reflected in the practices of human resources
represent the most pressing organizational barriers expressed by participants.
Another organizational barrier expressed during interviews pertained to the
organizational mission of the SCLEA. Currently, SCLEA’s mission is to “maintain public order
following established ethical and constitutional guidelines, in partnership with the community, so
as to provide a safe and peaceful environment for all citizens” (SCLEA, 2016, para. 1).
Recommended changes include adding gender or diversity to this mission statement in a manner
that matches the community. For instance, as one participant stated, “I know it’s just words,
maybe no one would read it, but if we really want to increase women police with the goal of
mirroring the community, it should be stated explicitly in the mission statement.” Another
participant commented that revising “the mission statement goes hand-in-hand with revising the
policies and procedures, which ultimately drives practices.” Hence, participants coalesced
around revising or changing organizational documents as a first step to driving organizational
changes aimed at increasing the number of female law enforcement at the SCLEA. One of these
changes, in particular, includes gender-norming the hiring process and training. As one
participant stated, “Diversity is about including difference, but that difference is ultimately made
up of individuals who are different and have different needs.”
Participants also recommended changing marketing efforts during the phase of recruiting
potential applicants. For instance, one participant stated, “We recruit today like we did
yesterday. But, how should we recruit tomorrow? In the past, we’ve approach recruiting very
passively. We need to actively recruit.” Another participant suggested, “We can use social
media to actively recruit applicants, and we can target that recruiting directly to women by
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 59
running adds on Twitter and Facebook. You buy ads for a target demographic. You want
women. Target them.” Hence, participants recommended improved marketing by specifically
targeting women on social media platforms to increase the number of female applicants.
Summary
This chapter presented the research findings. These findings were based on a constant
comparative method of data analysis. The chapter addressed the research questions posed in the
introductory chapter. This chapter presented the results to answer each of the three research
questions. Although male law enforcement has increased, female law enforcement has decreased
at the SCLEA. Stakeholders were motivated and had adequate knowledge for recruiting and
hiring women law enforcement. However, organizational barriers include policies and
procedures and recruitment and hiring practices related to women law enforcement. Some
suggested recommendations include revising and changing organizational documents to change
practices, including the mission statement, hiring requirements, policies and procedures, and
active marketing or recruiting outreach using social media. This next chapter will discuss the
findings and interpret them in light of previous research, helping to make recommendations for
actions that the SCLEA can take to increase female law enforcement.

RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 60
V. RECOMMENDATIONS
What are some recommendations in terms of knowledge, motivation, and organizational
elements for increasing female police officers? This chapter addresses this question by
providing recommendations for increasing female police officers by changing recruiting and
hiring practices at the SCLEA. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the degree to which
the SCLEA is achieving its goal of increasing the number of female law enforcement by
examining the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences based on a modified gap-
analysis framework. This chapter takes the diagnostic information about knowledge, motivation,
and organizational elements hindering the recruitment and hiring of women police officers and
provides recommendation for improving recruitment and hiring practices for increasing the
number of female law enforcement officers at the SCLEA. Recommendations for practice are
first discussed before discussing strengths and weakness of the gap-analysis framework,
limitations, and recommendations for future research.
Recommendations for Practice
While the previous chapter helped identify knowledge, motivational, and organizational
problems, this chapter makes recommendation for increasing women police officers.
Recommendations for practice are based on the main finding that stakeholders’ knowledge and
motivation largely reside within the organizational influences. Organizational influences largely
dictate what knowledge is valued and deemed necessary and how motivation can leverage
knowledge to address the organizational mission and goals. Therefore, new organizational
mission and goals requires corresponding levels of knowledge and motivation. This section
outlines the recommended steps for addressing the goal of increasing the number of women
police officers at the SCLEA. Recommendations begin at the organizational level and extend to
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 61
actual, on the ground recruitment and hiring practices of the human resources department. It is
important to note that these recommendations are general approximations for change at different
organizational levels rather than prescriptive recommendations, because the SCLEA provides a
public service that requires outside input from other organizations.
Recommendation 1: Organizational Mission. Organizational change requires being
responsive to needs (Clark & Estes, 2008). Findings from this research project suggested this
responsiveness is currently driven by knowledge and motivation grounded in the mission and
policies and procedures of the organization. Hence, to change the drivers of knowledge and
motivation first requires changes to the organization overall. The first recommendation requires
revising the organizational mission statement. Currently, this mission statement alludes to but
does not explicitly address the problem of practice investigated in this research project—make
the overall police force representative the gender distribution or make-up that is comparable to
the community being served. Hence, the organizational mission statement should be revised.
Currently, the organizational mission only implicitly alludes to gender proportionally: “maintain
public order following established ethical and constitutional guidelines, in partnership with the
community, so as to provide a safe and peaceful environment for all citizens” (SCLEA, 2016,
para. 1). This mission statement could be revised to something like: The mission of the SCLEA
is to “maintain public order following established ethical and constitutional guidelines, in
partnership with [and by reflecting the gender or demographic make-up of] the community, so as
to provide a safe and peaceful environment for all citizens [through community policing].” This
proposed mission helps to explicitly connect gender-based recruitment and hiring practices to not
only the community served but also how the community is served (i.e., Recommendation #2).
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 62
Recommendation 2: Community Policing. Community policing goes hand-in-hand
with revising the mission statement to explicitly address the gender disproportionality at the
SCLEA. In fact, the mission statement could be revised to also explicitly include community
policing. Research suggests that increasing the number of women police at law enforcement
agencies might be achieved by changing the policing method from the crime-fighting model that
arose after 9/11 to the community-policing model (Kerlikowske, 2004). The community-
policing model emphasizes public service, victim assistance, and collaborative policing with the
community (Prenzler & Sinclair, 2013; Rabe-Hemp, 2008, 2011). Research also suggests that
community policing depends on attributes often held by female police officers like de-escalation
and low levels of firearm discharge (Prenzler & Sinclair, 2013; Rabe-Hemp, 2008, 2011) and
being patient and supportive (Lonsway, 2003). Hence, this recommendation is grounded in the
previous literature suggesting that law enforcement agencies with higher levels of female police
also tend to emphasize community policing. Hence, the mission of the SCLEA must be
complemented by the method of policing. This method drives recruitment and hiring.
Recommendation 3: Policies and Procedures. Findings suggested that knowledge and
motivation are embedded in organizational influences. Participants suggested that the SCLEA’s
policies and procedures were developed for “a different time and different need.” As the
organizational mission and method of policing evolve, so too must the SCLEA’s policies and
procedures. These policies and procedures underlie the hiring practices of the organization. One
major change to the organization’s policies and procedures includes gender-normed hiring
practices. These gender-normed hiring practices include things like physical fitness tests,
education requirements, and sexual harassment and gender discrimination training.
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 63
Research suggests that policies and procedures should account for physical fitness
differences between males and females, especially when tests do not represent the actual duties
of a police officer. They can inflate who is or is not physically qualified to be a police officer
(Anderson, Plecas, & Segger, 2001; Maher 1984). A gender-normed physical fitness test is one
non-discriminatory approach for mitigating the negative effects of physical fitness tests on
female applicants (Alspaugh v. Law Enforcement Standards Commission, 2001). Law
enforcement agencies can also ensure that physical fitness align with job-related responsibilities
(U.S. Department of Justice, 2009). The SCLEA could even consider dropping and greatly
reducing the required physical fitness standards. For instance, Schuck (2014) found that
agencies with no physical fitness screening criteria had higher levels of female police officers.
Another recommendation for changing the SCLEA’s policies and procedures includes the
education requirement. Findings suggested that education level was not considered an important
screening criterion for law enforcement applicants. However, research suggests that education
may be an important influence on the recruitment and hiring of female police officers. For
instance, Schuck (2014) found that law enforcement agencies that have higher education
requirements also tended to have higher levels of female police officer representation.
Moreover, raising the education standard for police applicants may also complement the
community policing model because law enforcement officers without higher education tended to
tolerate police abuse more than officers with a higher education degree (Telep, 2011).
Lastly, the SCLEA should develop policies and procedures that specifically address the
possibility of sexual harassment and gender discrimination. Indeed, both sexual harassment and
gender discrimination are deterrents that may serve as a barrier to increasing the number of
female police applicants while increasing female police officer attrition (Acker, 1992; Chapell &
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 64
Lanza-Kaduce, 2010; Prokos & Padavic, 2002; U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, 2009a). For instance, Timmerman, and Hoing (2009) found that 77% of female
police officers in 35 different countries encountered sexual harassment. By creating policies and
procedures that require sexual harassment training, the SCLEA can not only work toward
including women applicants and cadets, but they can also help prevent or stop behaviors that
may serve as barriers to increasing the number of women police officers at the SCLEA. Some of
these behaviors include propositions for sexual favors and sexist material, jokes, stories, and
comments (Somvadee & Morash, 2008). Such behaviors often stem from gender discrimination
embedded in the hierarchal, paramilitary organizational structure of law enforcement agencies
that favor masculinity (Chapell & Lanza-Kaduce, 2010) and marginalizing women (Acker,
1992). Moreover, the revised policies and procedures for the SCLEA can mitigate sexual
harassment through the creation of a reporting system and sexual harassment training provided to
recruits and existing agency personnel (National Center for Women and Policing, 2002). It is
important to create a culture that incorporates these recommendations and then communicate that
culture to current and potential law enforcement personnel and other stakeholders.
Recommendation 4: Recruitment Marketing. Participants indicated that applicant
recruitment currently follows a legacy marketing approach. One recommendation for increasing
female applicants includes targeted marketing. Milgram (2005) suggested several short-term
strategies for recruiting women, including developing a targeted marketing campaign, holding
career fairs, and develop posters and flyers featuring women police. Other recruiting efforts
include long-term strategies directed toward women applicants, including recruiting from two
and four-year colleges, offering internships, developing high school police academies, and
having a citizen police academy. Helldorfer (2016) suggested that the internet is a power tool for
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 65
recruiting police applicants. Marketing efforts also include moving from a traditional passive
approach to an interactive approach that leverages 2.0 media technologies like Twitter and
Facebook (Crump, 2011). Hence, the internet can be a powerful influence on targeted marketing
of women police applicants (Castaneda & Ridgeway, 2010).
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Gap Analysis Model
There were several strengths and weakness of the gap analysis model underpinning this
research project. Clark and Estes’ (2008) gap analysis model provided a conceptual framework
for understanding the influence of knowledge, motivation, and organizational elements on
increasing the number of women police officers at the SCLEA. The stakeholders included
personnel from SCLEA’s human resources department. The human resources department is
responsible for recruiting and hiring law enforcement personnel. This responsibility places the
human resources department in a unique position to direct recruiting and hiring efforts in a
manner that increases the number of female law enforcement. The gap analysis model provided
a clear conceptual framework for focusing on the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
elements necessary for increasing the number of women police at the SCLEA. This focus helped
collect information on many pivotal factors necessary for understanding and addressing the
organizational problem of low numbers of female law enforcement, especially when placed in
the community context, where women represent approximately half the population. However,
this model treated the three elements in a mutually exclusive manner, when in fact the elements
are often interrelated. Mutually exclusivity made it challenging to clearly identify barriers and
strength, especially when these influences include two or more elements.

RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 66
Limitations
The conclusions of this research project should be interpreted in light of several
limitations. First, this research project examined recruiting and hiring of female law enforcement
by personnel in the human resources department. This research project did not examine female
applicants, cadets, or active police officers. Therefore, the conclusions of this study are limited
to the perceptions of stakeholders who participated, and they do not provide an account of
women who have been recruited, hired, or are serving as an active duty police officer.
Moreover, my position as chief law enforcement officer may have influenced the results. The
participants’ responses could have been what they thought I wanted to hear.
Second, the sample was small (i.e., six participants) and purposefully selected for this
research project. A random sample of personnel in the human resources departments was not
conducted. Had a random, representative sample been taken, the findings and conclusions
thereof might have been generalizable to other times and places. However, this qualitative study
sought to narrow its focus by examining stakeholders in the human resources department at the
SCLEA. Although the findings and associated recommendation pertain to this population and at
this specific agency, they may not be generalizable to other law enforcement agencies, whether
in California, in particular, or the United States, more generally.
Third, this research project employed a narrow definition of diversity—female law
enforcement officers. It did not examine other diversity factors like race, ethnicity, or disability.
Race, ethnic, disability and gender diversity are equally important factors. For instance, Schuck
(2014) found that law enforcement agencies that serve large communities that are racially and
ethnically diverse tended to have higher levels of female police officer representation.

RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 67
Future Research
The limitations in the preceding section provide several avenues for future research.
Future research should examine other groups of stakeholders, including both personnel from the
human resources department and female police applicants or officers. Future research should
also aim to conduct a larger, random sample to provide a generalized refinement of the findings.
Future research could examine the mixture and interaction of both police force diversity and
community diversity and its impact on the representation of female law enforcement officers.
For instance, future research could aim to answer questions like: How does race and gender
interact within the context of different communities with diverse demographics?
Conclusion
The purpose of this qualitative research project was to evaluate the degree to which the
SCLEA is achieving its goal of increasing the number of female law enforcement from 13.95%
to 20% by 2020. Currently, the SCLEA has a low number of female law enforcement compared
to male law enforcement, especially when considering this comparison in light of the gender
distribution of the community served by the SCLEA. To achieve this goal, stakeholders play a
central role. The specific stakeholders involved in the recruitment and hiring of women police
were from SCLEA’s human resources department. A modified gap analysis framework was
employed to evaluate the knowledge, motivation, and organizational elements of recruiting and
hiring efforts of this department. Findings focused on barriers and solutions in terms of
knowledge, motivation, and organizational elements. One of the main barriers to achieving the
goal was the organization, specifically because the current organization provides a framework
that generates and limits human behavior. Findings suggest stakeholders’ knowledge and
motivation were well suited for the current recruiting and hiring model used at the SCLEA.
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 68
Sustained change is not dependent on the knowledge or motivation of any one individual but
rather stem from the roots of an organization’s mission. That is, policies and procedures drive
recruitment and hiring efforts. Therefore, one of the main solutions to addressing the problem of
low women law enforcement is to change the organizational mission and associated policies and
procedures to explicitly address gender disproportionality of the work. By changing these
policies and procedures, the human resources department might generate new knowledge and
motivations that align with the new mission of the SCLEA.

RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 69
REFERENCES
“About Post.” (2018). Retrieved from https://post.ca.gov/About-Us
Acker, J. (1992). From sex roles to gendered institutions. Contemporary Sociology, 21(5), 565–
569. doi:10.2307/2075528
Alspaugh v. Law Enforcement Standards Commission. 634 N.W.2d 161. (2001).
American Marketing Association. (2013). Definition of marketing. Retrieved from
https://www.ama.org/AboutAMA/Pages/Definition-of-Marketing.aspx
Anderson, G., Plecas, D., & Segger, T. (2001). Police officer physical ability tests for police
officers: A construction validation approach. Journal of Applied Psychology 77, 8–31.
doi:10.1037/0021-9010.77.6.996
Birzer, M. L., & Craig, D. E. (1996). Gender differences in police physical ability test
performance. American Journal of Police 15, 93–108. doi:10.1108/07358549610122494
Brandl, S. G., Stroshine, M. S., & Frank, J. (2001). Who are the compliant-prone officers?”: An
examination of the relationship between police officers’ attributes, arrest activity,
assignment, and citizens’ complaints about excessive force. Journal of Criminal Justice,
29(6), 521–529. doi:10.1016/S0047-2352(01)00114-3
Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research
Journal, 9(2), 27–40. doi:10.3316/QRJ0902027
Chappell, A. T. (2008). Police academy training: Comparing across curricula. Policing: An
International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 31(1), 36–56.
doi:10.1108/13639510810852567
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 70
Chapell, A. T., & Lanza-Kaduce, L. (2010). Police academy socialization: Understanding the
lessons learned in a paramilitary-bureaucratic organization. Journal of Contemporary
Ethnography, 39(2), 187–214. doi:10.1177/0891241609342230
Clark, R. E., & Estes, F. (2008). Turning research into results: A guide to selecting the right
performance solutions. IAP.
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five
approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Definition of Diversity. (2018). Retrieved from
http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/diversity/definition.html
Dineen, B. R., & Soltis, S. M. (2011). Recruitment: A review of research and emerging
directions. In S. Zedeck (Ed.), APA handbooks in psychology. APA handbook of
industrial and organizational psychology, Vol. 2. Selecting and developing members for
the organization (pp. 43–66). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
doi:10.1037/12170-002
Dodge, M., & Valcore, L. (2011). Women on SWAT teams: Separate but equal? Policing: An
International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 34(4), 699–712.
doi:10.1106/13639511111180298.6/j.
Donaldson, T., & Preston, L. E. (1995). The stakeholder theory of the corporation: concepts,
evidence, and implications. Academy of Management Review, 20(1), 65–91.
doi:10.2307/258887
Dothard v. Rawlingson, 433 U.S. 321 (1977).
Eccles, J. (2006). Expectancy value motivational theory. Retrieved from
http://www.education.com/reference/article/expectancy-value-motivational-theory/.
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 71
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). (2017). Uniform crime reporting (UCR) program: Crime
in the United States 2017: Full-time law enforcement employees. Retrieved from
https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2017/crime-in-the-u.s.-2017/tables/table-74
Foley, P. F., Guarneri, C., & Kelly, M. E. (2008). Reasons for choosing a police career: Changes
over two decades. International Journal of Police Science & Management 10(1), 2–8.
doi:10.1350/ijps.2008.10.1.2
Franklin, C. A. (2005). Male peer and the police culture: Understanding the resistance and
opposition of women in policing. Women in Criminal Justice, 16(3), 1–25.
doi:10.1300/Jo12v16n03_01.
Frasier, M. (2016, August 17). We need more female police officers. The New York Times.
Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/08/17/how-can-police-do-
a-better-job-of-recruiting-officers/we-need-more-female-police-officers
Galva, J. E., Atchison, C., & Levey, S. (2005). Public health strategy and the police powers of
the state. Public Health Report, 120(1), 20–27. doi:10.1177/00333549051200S106
Garrick, D. (2018, June 4). San Diego launches $350,000 social media push for #policerecruits.
The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved from
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/sd-me-police-recruiting-20180614-
story.html
Gerrig, R. J. (2013). Psychology and life (20th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.
Glesne, C. (2011). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction (4
th
ed.). New York, NY:
Pearson.
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 72
Glossary of Police Terms. (2013). Retrieved from
https://mpdc.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/mpdc/publication/attachments/Glossary%2
0of%20Police%20Terms%202013.pdf
Gruba, E. G. (1981). ERIC/ECTJ annual review paper: Criteria for assessing the trustworthiness
of naturalistic inquiries. Educational Communication and Technology, 29(2), 75–91.
Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/30219811
Haas, S., Timmerman, G., & Hoing, M. (2009). Sexual harassment and health among male and
female police officers. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14(4), 390–401.
doi:10.1037/a0017046
Hassell, K. D., Archbold, C. A., & Stichman, A. J. (2011). Comparing the workplace experiences
of male and female police officers: Examining workplace problems, stress, job
satisfaction and consideration of career change. International Journal of Police, 13(1),
37–53. doi:10.1350./jps.3011.13.1.217
Helldorfer, K. L. (2016). “I can haz applicants”: An analysis of police recruitment and
marketing through social media (Master's thesis). University of Southern Mississippi.
Hiebert, J., & Lefevre, P. (1986). Conceptual and procedural knowledge in mathematics: An
introductory analysis. In J. Hiebert (Ed.), Conceptual and procedural knowledge: The
case of mathematics (pp. 1–22). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Jordan, W. T., Fridell, L., Faggiani, D., & Kubu, B. (2009). Attracting females and racial/ethnic
minorities to law enforcement. Journal of Criminal Justice, 37, 333–341.
doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2009.06.001
Jones, J. M. (2015, June 19). In U.S., confidence in police lowest in 22 years. Gallup. Retrieved
from https://news.gallup.com/poll/183704/confidence-police-lowest-years.aspx
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 73
Kautz, K., Pedersen, C. F., & Monrad, O. (2009). Cultures of agility—Agile software
development in practice. In Proceedings of the 20th Australasian conference on
information. Melbourne, Australia.
Kerlikowske, R. G. (2004). End of community policing: Remembering the lessons learned. FBI
Law Enforcement Bulletin 73, 6–10.
Koper, C. S. (2004). Hiring and keeping police officers (NCJ 202289). Washington, DC:
National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.
Koper, C. S., Maguire, E. R., & Moore, G. E. (2001). Hiring and retention issues in police
agencies readings on the determinants of police strength, hiring and retention of officers,
and the federal COPS program. Urban Institute: Justice Policy Center. Retrieved from
https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/61721/410380-Hiring-and-
Retention-Issues-in-Police-Agencies.PDF
Krathwohl, D. R. (2002). A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy: An overview. Theory Into Practice,
41(4), 212–218. doi:10.1207/s15430421tip4104_2
Kringen, A. L. (2014a). Understanding barriers that affect recruiting and retaining female
police officers: a mixed method approach. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from
https://digital.library.txstate.edu/handle/10877/5291
Kringen, A. L. (2014b). Scholarship on women and policing trends and policy implications.
Feminist Criminology, 9(4), 367–381. doi:10.1177/1557085114530772
Krislov, S., & Rosenbloom, D. H. (1981). Representative bureaucracy and the American
political system. New York, NY: Praeger.
Lester, D. (1983). Why do people become police officers: A study of reasons and their
predictions of success. Journal of Police Science Administration, 11(2), 170–174.
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 74
Lonsway, K., Carrington, S., Aguirre, P., Wood, M., Moore, M., Harrington, P., Smeal, E., &
Spillar, K. (2002). Equality denied. The status of women in policing: 2001. National
Center for Women & Policing. Feminist Majority Foundation. Retrieved from
http://www.womenandpolicing.org/publications.asp
Lonsway, K. A. (2007). Are we there yet? The progress of women in one large law enforcement
agency. Women and Criminal Justice, 18(1/2), 1–48. doi:10.1300/J012v18n01_01
Maher, P. T. (1984). Police physical agility tests: Can they ever be valid? Public Personnel
Management Journal 13, 173–183. doi:10.1177/009102608401300209
Martin, S. E., & Jurick, N. C. (2007). Doing justice, doing gender (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage.
Maxwell, J. A. (2013). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (3
rd
ed.). Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage.
Mayer, R. E. (2011). Applying the science of learning. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Meier, K. J., & Nicholson-Crotty, J. (2006). Gender, representative bureaucracy, and law
enforcement: The case of sexual assault. Public Administration Review, 66(6), 850–860.
doi:10.1111/j.1540-6210.2006.00653.x
Merriam, S. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Merriam, S. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco,
CA: Jossey-Bass.
Milgram, D. (2015). Get the facts: Recruiting women officers. PoliceOne. Retrieved from
https://www.policeone.com/police-products/female-police-officers/articles/97459-Get-
the-facts-Recruiting-women-officers/
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 75
Moron, J. B. (1998). Complex challenges, collaborative solutions: programming for adult and
juvenile female offenders. American Correctional Association.
National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals. (1973). Police.
Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Nenty, H. J. (2009). Writing a quantitative research thesis. International Journal of Educational
Sciences, 1(1), 19–32. doi:10.1080/09751122.2009.11889972
Newman, D. A., & Lyon, J. S. (2009). Recruitment efforts to reduce adverse impact: Targeted
recruiting for personality, cognitive ability, and diversity. Journal of Applied Psychology,
94(2), 298–317. doi:10.1037/a0013472
Norman, J. (2017, July 10). Confidence in police back at historic average. Gallup. Retrieved
from https://news.gallup.com/poll/213869/confidence-police-back-historical-
average.aspx
Palys, T. (2008). Purposive sampling. In L. M. Given (Ed.), The Sage encyclopedia of qualitative
research methods (pp. 697–698). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Pennebaker, J. W. (1982). The psychology of physical symptoms. New York, NY: Springer-
Verlag Publishing.
Perlstein, G. R. (1972). Policewomen and policemen: A comparative look. Police Chief, 39(3),
72–74.
Prenzler, T., & Sinclair, G. (2013). The status of women police officers: An international review.
International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 4(1), 115–131.
doi:10.1016/j.ijlcj.2012.12.001.
President’s Commission On Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice. (1967). Task force
report: Police. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 76
Prokos, A. & Padavic, I. (2002). There ought to be a law against bitches: Masculinity lessons in
police academy training. Gender, Work & Organization 4, 439–459. doi:10.1111/1468-
0432.00168
Rabe-Hemp, C. (2008). Survival in an “all boys club”: Policewomen and their fight for
acceptance. Policing: An International Journal of Policing Strategies & Management,
31(2), 251–270. doi:10.1108/13639510810878712
Rabe-Hemp, C. E. (2011). Female forces: Beauty, brains, and a badge. Feminist Criminology,
6(7), 132–155. doi:10.1177/1557085111398471
Raganella, A. J., & White, M. D. (2004). Race, gender, and motivation for becoming a police
officer: Implications for building a representative police department. Journal of Criminal
Justice, 32(6), 501–513. doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2004.08.009
Rueda, R. (2011). The 3 dimensions of improving student performance. New York, NY:
Teachers College Press.
Saldaña, J. (2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (Vol. 2, 3rd ed.). Los Angeles,
CA: Sage.
Sanders, B. A. (2008). Using personality traits to predict police officer performance. Policing:
An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 31, 29–147.
doi:10.1108/13639510810852611
Schein, E. (1985). Organizational culture and leadership. San Franciso, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Schulz, D. M. (1993). From policewomen to police officer: An unfinished revolution. Police
Studies, 16, 90–98.
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 77
Schulz, D. M. (2004). Invisible no more: A social history of women in U.S. policing. In B. R.
Price & N. J. Sokoloff (Eds.), The criminal justice system and women (pp. 483–494).
New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
Schuck, A. M. (2014). Female representation in law enforcement: The influence of screening,
unions, incentives, community policing, CALEA, and size. Police Quarterly, 17(1), 54–
78. doi:10.1177/1098611114522467
Schuck, A. M., & Rabe-Hemp, C. (2007). Women police. Women & Criminal Justice, 16(4), 91–
117. doi:10.1300/J012v16n04_05Koop
Shelley, T. O., Morabito, M. S., & Tobin-Gurley, J. (2011). Gendered institutions and gender
roles: understanding the experiences of women in policing. Criminal Justice Studies: A
Critical Journal of Crime, Law and Society, 4, 351–367.
doi:10.1080/1478601X.2011.625698
Shenton, A. K. (2004). Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative research projects.
Education for Information, 22, 63–75. doi:10.3233/EFI-2004-22201
Shpritzer v. Lang. (1962).
Somvadee, C., & Morash, M. (2008). Dynamics of sexual harassment for policewomen working
alongside men. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management,
31(3), 485–498. doi:10.1108/1363951081089582.
Strauss, A. L., & Corbin, J. M. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory
procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Strauss, A. L., & Corbin, J. M. (1994). Grounded theory methodology: An overview. In U. K.
Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 273–385).
Thousand Oaks, CA. US: Sage.
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 78
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for
developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Sullivan, L. E. (2009). Diversity. In the SAGE glossary of the social and behavioral sciences.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Taylor, B., Kubu, B., Fridell, L., Rees, C., Jordan, T., & Cheney, J. (2005). The cop crunch:
Identifying strategies for dealing with the recruiting and hiring crisis in law enforcement.
Washington, D.C.: Police Executive Research Forum.
Telep, C. W. (2011). The impact of higher education on police officer attitudes toward abuse of
authority. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 22(3), 392–419.
doi:10.1080/10511253.2010.519893
Thompson, B. M., Kirk, A., & Brown, D. (2006). Sources of stress in policewomen: A three-
factor model. International Journal of Stress Management, 13(3), 309–328.
doi:10.1037/1072.5245.13.3.309.
White, M. D., Cooper, J. A., Saunders, J., & Raganella, A. J. (2010). Motivations for becoming a
police officer: Re-assessing officer attitudes and job satisfaction after six years on the
street. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38(4), 520–530. doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2010.04.022
White, M. D., & Escobar, G. (2008). Making good cops in the twenty-first century: Emerging
issues for the effective recruitment, selection and training of police in the united states
and abroad. International Review of Law Computers & Technology, 22(1), 119–134.
doi:10.1080/13600860801925045
Wilson, A. A. (2016). Female police officers’ perceptions and experiences with marginalization:
A phenomenological study. (Doctoral dissertation). Walden University.
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 79
Wilson, J. M. (2012). Articulating the dynamic police staffing challenge. Policing, 35(2), 327–
355. doi:10.1108/13639511211230084
Wilson, J., Dalton, E., Scheer, C., & Grammich, C. (2010). Police recruitment and retention for
the new millennium: The state of knowledge. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.
Wilson, C. P., Wilson, S. A., Luthar, H. K., & Bridges, M. R. (2013). Recruiting for diversity in
law enforcement: An evaluation of practices used by state and local agencies. Journal of
Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, 11(4), 238–255. doi:10.1080/15377938.2012.762755
Wubbena, Z. (2017). A pedagogy for space: Visually framing the 2011 Chilean student
movement. Policy Futures in Education, 15(4), 460–480.
doi:10.1177/1478210317694501
U.S. Census Bureau. (2010). 2010 Census. Retrieved from
https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF
U.S. Census Bureau. (2011). Age and sex composition: 2010. Retrieved from
https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-03.pdf
U.S. Department of Justice. (2009). Law enforcement recruitment toolkit. Retrieved from
https://cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/vets-to-cops/e080921223-recruitmenttoolkit.pdf
U.S. Department of Justice. (2010). Crime data brief: Women in law enforcement, 1987-2008
(NCJ 230521). Retrieved from https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/wle8708.pdf
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2009a). Sex-based discrimination. Retrieved
from https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/sex.cfm
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2009b). Sexual harassment. Retrieved from
https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/publications/upload/fs-sex.pdf
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 80
U.S. Legal Definitions. (2018a). Law enforcement agency law and legal definition. Retrieved
from https://definitions.uslegal.com/l/law-enforcement-agency/
U.S. Legal Definitions. (2018b). Police officer law and legal definition. Retrieved from
https://definitions.uslegal.com/p/police-officer/
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 81
APPENDIX A

Interview Protocol

Date and Time of Interview: ______________________________________________________
Interview Location: _____________________________________________________________
Interviewee: ___________________________________________________________________
Interviewer: ___________________________________________________________________

Permission to Record the Interview: Yes No

Introduction

I am DARREN GOODMAN. Thank you for agreeing to speak with me today. As I mentioned
to you in my email, the interview should take less than an hour. During this time, there will be
several topics discussed. These topics relate directly to the study being conducted. If I have
your permission, I will tape record this interview because I want to ensure I fully capture your
interview responses. I will also take notes during the interview. Please be sure to speak up, so
the recorder does not miss your responses. All of your responses will be kept confidential. Any
information included in the research report will not identify you as a respondent. Your
participation is completely voluntary, and you may stop at any time. If there is a question that
you do not want to answer, please notify me and the question will be skipped. Finally, it is my
ethical responsibility to ensure no harm is inflected on you in any way, shape or form.

Hello, [INSERT NAME]. You have been selected to speak with me today because you have
been identified as someone who can provide important insights concerning the recruitment and
hiring efforts in the human resources division of the SCLEA. As a researcher, I am trying to
learn more about the barriers to recruiting and hiring female police officers. I will ask you a
series of questions related to the knowledge, motivation, and organizational elements related to
recruiting and hiring female police officers. Do you have any questions before we get started?

Knowledge (K1-4)

• K1: What do you believe are the challenges to recruiting and hiring qualified female law
enforcement officers?
• K2: What skills or training do you believe are critical to performing your job as a recruiter?
• K3: What is the training and development you received prior to beginning as a recruiter?
• K4: How do you feel about your ability to adequately recruit and hire more women into the
organization?

Motivation (M1-5)

• M1: How would you describe effective recruitment and hiring practices?
• M2: What is your definition of best recruitment and hiring practices?
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 82
• M3: How does your division develop their policies and procedures for recruitment and
hiring?
• M4: What methods are used to measure the effectiveness of the recruitment and hiring
practices being utilized?
• M5: What is the importance of recruiting and hiring female police officers?

Organization (O1-4)

• O1: What is the training and development provided by the organization prior beginning your
job as a recruiter?
• O2: What has your organizational leadership communicated to you in terms of its philosophy
on diversity, specifically related to female law enforcement?
• O3: What is your organization’s ideal police officer candidate?
• O4: How would you describe the relationship between existing employee satisfaction and the
recruitment and hiring of new employees?

RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 83
APPENDIX B
Institutional Review Board Approval

RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 84
APPENDIX C
Informed Consent
INFORMED CONSENT FOR NON-MEDICAL RESEARCH

University of Southern California
Department of Education

TITLE
Recruiting and Hiring Female Police Officers: An Evaluative Study

You are invited to participate in a research study conducted by Doctoral Candidate: Darren L.
Goodman, M.P.A., from the University of Southern California. Your participation is voluntary.
You should read the information below, and ask questions about anything you do not understand,
before deciding whether to participate. Please take as much time as you need to read the consent
form. You may also decide to discuss participation with your family or friends. If you decide to
participate, you will be asked to sign this form. You will be given a copy of this form.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
This research study aims to understand the efficacy of the current recruitment and hiring practices
of select Southern California Law Enforcement Agencies (SCLEA) in relation to their stated goals
of filling vacant officer positions with qualified and diverse candidates.

PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT
If you agree to take part in this study, you will be asked to participate in a semi structured interview
that will take approximately 30 minutes. The location of the interview will be determined based
what in most convenient for you and your availability. You do not have to answer any questions
you don’t want to.

POTENTIAL RISKS AND DISCOMFORTS
There are no physical risks or known discomforts associated with this study.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO PARTICIPANTS AND/OR TO SOCIETY
Potential benefits of the study are improved strategies and practices in recruitment for diverse
candidates.

PAYMENT/COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATION
There will be no compensation provided for participation in this study.

POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST OF THE INVESTIGATOR
There are no conflicts of interest.

CONFIDENTIALITY
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 85
There will be no identifiable information obtained in connection with this study. At the completion
of the study, the anonymous data may be used for future research studies. If you do not want your
data used in future studies, you should not participate.

The members of the research team and the University of Southern California’s Human Subjects
Protection Program (HSPP) may access the data. The HSPP reviews and monitors research studies
to protect the rights and welfare of research subjects.

PARTICIPATION AND WITHDRAWAL
Your participation is voluntary. Your refusal to participate will involve no penalty or loss of
benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. You may withdraw your consent at any time and
discontinue participation without penalty. You are not waiving any legal claims, rights or remedies
because of your participation in this research study.

ALTERNATIVES TO PARTICIPATION
Interviews can also be delivered through email, or phone call. The preferred version of the data
collection shall be through interview.

INVESTIGATOR’S CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel free to contact: USC Doctoral
Candidate Darren Goodman, M.P.A. Cell Number: 951-269-9326. Email: dlgoodma@usc.edu

RIGHTS OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANT – IRB CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have questions, concerns, or complaints about your rights as a research participant or the
research in general and are unable to contact the research team, or if you want to talk to someone
independent of the research team, please contact the University Park Institutional Review Board
(UPIRB), 3720 South Flower Street #301, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0702, (213) 821-5272 or
upirb@usc.edu

SIGNATURE OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANT

I have read the information provided above. I have been given a chance to ask questions. My
questions have been answered to my satisfaction, and I agree to participate in this study. I have
been given a copy of this form.

AUDIO/VIDEO/PHOTOGRAPHS
No Photos will be taken of the participant stakeholders

□ I agree to be audio/video-recorded /photographed
□ I do not want to be audio/video-recorded /photographed

Name of Participant

Signature of Participant Date
RECRUITING AND HIRING FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS 86

SIGNATURE OF INVESTIGATOR

I have explained the research to the participant and answered all of his/her questions. I believe
that he/she understands the information described in this document and freely consents to
participate.

Name of Person Obtaining Consent

Signature of Person Obtaining Consent Date

Abstract (if available)

Abstract In the United States, the preservation of peace and public safety largely depends on law enforcement agencies or police. However, the ability of law enforcement agencies to protect and serve their communities requires adequate staffing. One particular area of law enforcement staffing has been the recruitment and hiring of female police officers. This research project applied a modified gap analysis problem-solving framework to develop strategies to increase the number of female law enforcement officers at the Southern California Law Enforcement Agency (SCLEA). The purpose of this qualitative research was to identify knowledge, motivation, and organizational barriers hindering the recruitment and hiring of female police officers and, therefore, contributing to the identified gap of female disproportionality in the law enforcement agency. Participants included human resources personnel at the SCLEA. Data were collected using qualitative research methods, including interviews and organizational document. The constant comparative method was used to analyze data. First, findings suggested that, although male law enforcement has increased, female law enforcement has decreased at the SCLEA. Second, findings suggested that the stakeholders were motivated and had adequate knowledge for recruiting and hiring women law enforcement. Third, findings suggested two organizational barriers hindering the recruitment and hiring of female police officers included policies and procedures and recruitment and hiring practices related to women in law enforcement. Lastly, findings suggested revising and changing organizational documents to change practices, including the mission statement, hiring requirements, and policies and procedures, more generally, along with improving marketing, because stakeholders’ knowledge and motivations reside within the organizational influences. A series of solutions to address the barriers to increasing female police officers were developed. The gap analysis problem-solving framework applied in this research project demonstrated one approach for helping guide the SCLEA to reach its organizational goal of increasing the number of female law enforcement officers.

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

Police recruitment: finding a better way to hire tomorrow's finest

PDF

Impressions of diversity: frontline fundraiser hiring in higher education

PDF

Retaining female field grade officers in the USAF: an evaluative study

PDF

Developing qualified workers to support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in home and community settings: an evaluation study

PDF

Increasing organizational capacity at a small college to deploy revenue diversification strategies: an evaluation study

PDF

Pacific Coast University Police Department sworn officer staffing shortages: a gap analysis

PDF

Organizational agility and agile development methods: an evaluation study

PDF

Exploring the influence of implicit bias among police officers and minoritized citizens

PDF

A legacy of resilience: the experiences of African-American female attorneys: a case study

PDF

Transportation security officer engagement in the Transportation Security Administration: a study of a promising practice

PDF

Adaptability characteristics: an evaluation study of a regional mortgage lender

PDF

Officer performance appraisal program management: an evaluative case study

PDF

Increasing post-secondary education among police officers: an innovation study

PDF

Primary care physicians' experiences working within the patient-portal to improve the quality of patient care

PDF

Gender inequity and leadership in the large state militia: an innovation study

PDF

Advancing equity and inclusion in higher education: the role of the chief diversity officer and the institution in creating more diverse campus climates

PDF

Lack of Latinx senior executive service members in a federal government agency

PDF

STEM industries apprenticeships: organization influences, skill gaps, and challenges facing the 21st-century workforce: an evaluation study

PDF

Relationship between employee disengagement and employee performance among facilities employees in higher education: an evaluation study

PDF

The board fundraising challenge after nonprofit mergers: an evaluation study

Asset Metadata

Creator Goodman, Darren L. (author)

Core Title Recruiting and hiring female police officers: an evaluative study

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Publication Date 11/26/2019

Defense Date 08/30/2019

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag female officers,hiring,OAI-PMH Harvest,recruitment

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Hirabayashi, Kimberly (committee chair), Fazio, Victor (committee member), Green, Alan (committee member)

Creator Email dgoodman7@msn.com,dlgoodma@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-234330

Unique identifier UC11673567

Identifier etd-GoodmanDar-7955.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-234330 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-GoodmanDar-7955.pdf

Dmrecord 234330

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Goodman, Darren L.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA