Policewomen, power and gender relations in the military police from Minas Gerais

Abstract

With this research, it was aimed to understand the female work at the 8th Region of the Military Police from Minas Gerais (PMMG), an originally masculine organization, in light of power and gender relations. It was assumed that, although the presence of women in Police, most of the time, still reproduces the gender standards in society, their inclusion must be understood more dynamically, from the strategies adopted by men and women to live together and position theirselves in the organization. This can be achieved depending on the power relations established by the policewomen and men in their day-by-day work. The methodology was a qualitative case study in the 8th Region of PMMG, conducted through interviews with ten teachers who are researchers military police experts, 33 policewomen at the operational policing and 18 members of their work teams; document research and not participating observation. The data were analyzed with content analysis and allowed show that the work of PMMG operational policewomen is marked by power and gender relations in their daily life, their relationships, their personal life or the difficulties they face in the exercise of their function.