An Examination of Women in Federal Law Enforcement

• Author: Helen H. Yu
• Published date: 01 July 2015
• Date: 01 July 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/1557085114545824
• Subject Matter: Articles

Feminist Criminology

2015, Vol. 10(3) 259 –278

© The Author(s) 2014

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DOI: 10.1177/1557085114545824

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Article

An Examination of

Women in Federal

Law Enforcement: An

Exploratory Analysis

of the Challenges They

Face in the Work

Environment

Helen H. Yu1

Abstract

For a study of occupational barriers, qualitative and quantitative data were generated

from surveys collected from 168 women working in 34 federal law enforcement

agencies and varying in race, ethnicity, age, rank, and tenure. All women report at

least one occupational barrier in the workplace. Pervasive negative attitudes from

male colleagues, lack of high-ranking female role models, and work–life balance issues

prove to be the biggest barriers women face in federal law enforcement. Despite the

obstacles, women not only persist against the challenges but also highlight the unique

attributes of federal law enforcement to the policing research community.

Keywords

women, federal, law enforcement

Introduction

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2013), women account for 47% of all

working Americans; however, they comprise just 15.5% of all sworn federal law

enforcement officers1 (Reaves, 2012). The percentages are even lower in state and

1Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, USA

Corresponding Author:

Helen H. Yu, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Bay Hall 339, Unit 5826,

Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA.

Email: helen.yu@tamucc.edu

545824FCXXXX10.1177/1557085114545824Feminist CriminologyYu

research-article2014

260 Feminist Criminology 10(3)

local law enforcement. Women represent 12% of officers in local police departments,

11.2% in sheriffs’ offices, and 6.5% in state agencies (Hickman & Reaves, 2006a,

2006b). Despite the higher employment figure, women in federal law enforcement are

the least visible of all women in policing, evident by the lack of existing research by

feminist criminologists on gender and federal policing. At the same time, no women

working as law enforcement officers today have endure greater barriers to equality

than the women who work in federal policing. While women began their start in

municipal police departments in 1908 (Horne, 2006), women’s entry into federal law

enforcement did not occur until 1971 due to a number of discriminatory laws—not

mere masculine tradition—that limited their full participation (Schulz, 2009).

Its origin was legislation enacted in 1870 and its 1934 interpretation that allowed

federal agencies the option of selecting men or women regardless of merit for job

vacancies (Markoff, 1972), resulting in few women filling positions traditionally

occupied by men. Although Congress finally repealed the 1870 law in 1965 and

Executive Order 11375 formally added sex to the other legally prohibited forms of

discrimination in 1967, one additional roadblock remained—an exception granted by

the Civil Service Commission in 1962 for “law enforcement jobs requiring the bearing

of firearms” that continued to allow discrimination on the basis of sex (Martin & Jurik,

2006; Schulz, 2009, p. 676). It would take another 9 years before the Civil Service

Commission finally canceled the “firearms” exception in 1971 (Hellriegel & Short,

1972; Markoff, 1972; Schulz, 2009). Only then do women become eligible for posi-

tions in the GS-18112 and other job series that require carrying a firearm. That year, the

U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service become the first federal

agencies to swear in women special agents (Bumgarner, 2006). Other federal agencies

quickly follow and by late 1972, the initial pioneers of female federal officers begin to

emerge from training as special agents.

Women have now worked more than 40 years as special agents and in a variety of

supervisory and management positions since the 1990s (Schulz, 2009). But it was not

until 2002 that Teresa Chambers became the first woman to head a minor3 federal law

enforcement agency as the Chief of U.S. Park Police (Schulz, 2004). A year later,

Karen P. Tandy became the first woman to head a major4 federal law enforcement

agency as the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; Schulz,

2004). The selection of Michele M. Leonhart as Tandy’s deputy was also an important

first since Leonhart, a career DEA special agent, was the first woman in her agency to

come from the agent’s rank to fill a top management position (Schulz, 2004). Leonhart

succeeded Tandy when the Senate unanimously confirmed her nomination as the new

DEA (2010) administrator in December 2010. President Obama appointed another

female director that month when Stacia A. Hylton became the 10th Director of the

U.S. Marshals Service (2013) after 30 years of law enforcement and management

experience. Like Leonhart, she too came up through the ranks starting her career in

1980 as a Deputy U.S. Marshal and would later hold several key positions (U.S.

Marshals Services, 2013). Finally, in March 2013, after more than 30 years with the

U.S. Secret Service, President Obama swore in Julia A. Pierson as their 23rd Director

(Department of Homeland Security [DHS], 2013).