Gendered Barriers to Officers’ Workplace Networks
Marie Ouellet, Sadaf HashimiObjectives
Workplace friendship networks are linked to gender inequities in policing, yet women's positions within these networks remains largely unexamined. This study examines whether women are integrated into workplace networks or remain on the margins.
Methods
We use social network data on self-reported workplace friendships among over 1,900 officers across two police departments, collected at two time points. We estimate longitudinal network models to examine how gender and force use shape women's network integration.
Results
Women officers were well-integrated into workplace friendship networks. In the larger department, women were more likely than men to send and receive friendship nominations, and friendships were more likely within gender. Gender effects in the smaller department were similar in direction but not significant. Force use was not consistently associated with women's network position. Across measures of weapon use, most gender-by-force interactions were small and non-significant, with few department-specific exceptions.
Conclusion
Women were not systematically excluded from workplace friendship networks; these networks were more integrative than exclusionary. Limited evidence linking force use and friendship nonetheless suggests that gendered expectations have not disappeared. Understanding gender in policing requires attention not only to representation, but also to the conditions under which women are included.