Dear Readers,
The myriad ways that women are oppressed and denied equal opportunity gives them one advantage: they can sit around and speculate on how different the world would look if it were women, rather than men, that ran the show.
Of course, women aren’t perfect, and men have done many a thing to make the world a better place. But it’s hard not to think that our world would look different if the seats of power were underpinned with female energy rather than male. Would there be wars? Would there be police brutality to the extent there is now? Would coronavirus be under better control?
Attend any Black Lives Matter protest and you won’t be able to help but notice that nearly every police officer poised at the outline of the crowd is male. Watch videos of police brutality against protesters and you’d be hard pressed to find a woman in charge shoving someone head-first into the pavement. And of course, the vast majority of police officers who have been accused of excessive force, including those responsible for George Floyd’s death, are male.
Part of it is a numbers game: 87% of police officers are men. Of course they are more visible and therefore commit more wrongs than women police officers. But a look at policing statistics by gender aside: this lopsided gender divide alone may be the problem. As one male friend recently put it, “I’ve noticed that often when a bunch of guys hang out exclusively together, they turn into a gang.”
The reality of police departments shows that this offhand comment just might be true. Of the 50 large police departments in the country, only five are led by women. When Oakland’s first woman took the reins of the Oakland police department, she became the female head of a police department riddled with corruption and problems, described by the mayor as a “frat house.”
In 2016, a Justice Department investigation found that the Baltimore police department had been “shockingly negligent” in responding to sex crimes. Rape kits had been left untested, victims reported being called “whores” who were “trying to mess up guys’ lives” by officers working on their cases. One in three sexual assault cases were dismissed as “unfounded.” Further investigation showed the problem was systemic, with one detective in the sex crimes unit reportedly calling 90 percent of his cases “bullshit.” In interviews with over 30 women, one researcher found that when women were promoted to SWAT teams or bomb squads their male colleagues made disparaging comments, including one male police officer stating that the unit had been “pussified” since women joined.
These are a few examples of many that illustrate the boys’ clubs most police departments are, and the extent to which a “locker room” type atmosphere pervades police forces.
The reasons police departments skew male are rooted in a long history of police culture, but also in the familiar refrain of discrimination. Back in the 70s, police departments across the nation were predominately white and male. The only way a woman could become a cop was to offer herself as a “rape decoy” -- essentially a scantily clad woman who lured in an assailant while a SWAT team stood by, ready to swoop in.
Ever since then, the demographics of the average American police department have changed somewhat, but only after having been broken down by discrimination lawsuit after discrimination lawsuit. When women finally began to be hired as police officers in Philadelphia, they faced verbal and other abuse, and were given the worst shifts in an attempt to get them to go back to a desk job.
Thankfully, many women refused to. And what happened was incredible. With women on the force, there was a significant increase in the number of domestic violence incidents being reported. Repeat incidents of domestic violence went down, as did murders committed by domestic partners. Women were also found to be more skilled at navigating high-conflict situations - their communication skills were more suited to de-escalation than their male counterparts.
That was in one police department. But statistics hint that having a women-led force really might make things look different. Only 11 percent of female officers have fired their gun on duty. That number is 30 percent for male officers. Women are also “significantly less likely to use force than male officers, more likely to display empathy, and more likely to deescalate fraught encounters.”
Women police officers also find ways to arrest people without violence. Twenty two percent of female cops reported physically struggling with a suspect during arrest, versus a higher 35 percent of male officers. Fewer women police officers hold the belief that it is more useful in policing to be aggressive over courteous. Men are also more likely to believe that some suspects will only be brought to compliance by physical means.
Women were also less likely to use excessive force. One report in the The Atlantic noted that because women were less likely to use excessive force or pull their weapon, they were also defendants in lawsuits far less often than men, saving municipalities millions in legal fees.”
As the Black Lives Matter movement has brought continued and heightened awareness to the widespread, toxic police brutality rampant in our system, we see there is need for radical change. Leaders have become aware of the imperative to create diverse police departments that reflect the communities they serve. But though we’ve known about this problem for years, it hasn’t been enough to change things for Black people.
Perhaps diversity needs to go further. Though 50 percent of the population is female, less than 13 percent of police departments are. What might police culture look like if it there were not only more black officers, but also only women on the force? Or, at least, more women? It’s hard to say, because where we stand now, that’s a radical idea no one has yet tried, despite overwhelming evidence that women create the kind of police culture that might actually work to serve and protect the people, rather than brutalize them.
Of course, having a woman at the helm doesn’t mean problems magically disappear. It was a woman police chief whose officer shot and killed Rayshard Brooks in a Wendy’s parking lot in Atlanta recently. No doubt, an all-female force would have problems of its own. And this is not to say that women should bear the sole responsibility to be the “healers” of our country. As it turns out, historically queens were also more likely to wage wars than kings, so perhaps we just haven’t yet been given the chance to mess things up. But it may be the time to try.
What we’re reading this week…
A woman moves to Michigan with a black poodle named Merlin and in the process, learns about systemic racism and police targeting. In this blog post, she details the mystifying increase in encounters with police that begin when her dog decides to join her for encounters around town. What happens next, well... only in America.
We’re proud to have helped a lab director concerned about cuts to public health labs doing Covid-19 testing get his article in Fast Company this week. While everyone is focused on machine inaccuracies, Dr. Li Jin points out that it’s well-funded labs and qualified people that are the first line of defense against faulty results. On a related note, there’s nothing like a little data visualization to put things in perspective.
Lioness is offering free Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) consultations this week!
In recent weeks, workplace stories have emerged that paint troubling pictures of employment culture across industries, including hospitality, fitness, real estate, and media.
But for every story that has surfaced, many other stories that should be exposed are kept from the public because of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) that restrict people from informing the public, seeking justice, or recalibrating the culture at a workplace gone awry. According to one study, up to one-third of U.S. workers have signed an NDA.
That’s why Lioness has partnered up with a top NYC law firm to provide free legal and media consultations for anyone who might have a story to tell, but is bound by an NDA. If this describes you or anyone you know, fill out our survey and contact form here, and we’ll get your contract reviewed and questions answered.
That’s our newsletter for this week! We look forward to hearing from all of you, with any reader responses, tips, or unsung stories of your own to share - reply to this email to share them with us.
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- The team at Lioness