Gender, Police Culture, and Structured Ambivalence: Navigating ‘Fit' with the Brotherhood, Boys’ Club, and Sisterhood

Abstract

Women are increasingly represented in policing; however, inclusion alone will not eradicate existing structural and cultural barriers to meaningful change. Insights from interviews with ninety-one Canadian women police of varied rank and tenure, demonstrate women’s experiences of structured ambivalence as they strategically deploy and resist gendered policing narratives of the Brotherhood, Boys’ Club, and Sisterhood to negotiate their own ‘fit.’ In this way, they both challenge and reinforce gendered boundaries that create barriers to meaningful transformation. These findings demonstrate the need for change initiatives to address the complex and ever-shifting role of gender in policing organizations.