Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales

Gender Agenda 3 Launch - A Senior Operational Leader’s Perspective

Ch Supt Irene CurtisPresident, Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales

Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales

Who are senior operational leaders?PSAEW Survey of Female MembersPSAEW Personal Resilience SurveyNext Steps

What do Senior Operational Leaders do?

Influence Strategy

Implement tactics+

=MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales

Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales

PSAEW Survey of Female Members Results

(36% response rate)

Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales

My workplace is supportive of female officers

73%

Senior management are

supportive of female officers

63%

PSAEW Survey of Female Members 2014 – Results(36% response rate) I would feel confident

reporting sexual discrimination in my

workplace48%

I feel able to be myself in the

workplace81%

There are visible role models in my organisation

79%

My male colleagues are

well-informed on gender issues

38%

Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales

PSAEW Survey of Female Members Key themes

(36% response rate)

Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales

PSAEW Survey of Female Members 2014 – Key themes(36% response rate)

Lack of self-confidence

Perception of having to work twice as hard as

male colleagues

Feeling of isolation

Caring responsibilities impact upon work life balance and networking opportunities

Perception of being under greater

scrutiny than male colleagues

Lack of awareness of ‘unconscious bias’

Same behaviours assessed

differently in men than women

Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales

Q. What more could be done to improve the workplace for female officers?

Increased support such as

coaching and mentoring

Ability to work more

flexiblyAddress issues around work life

balance and menopause

Make senior leadership

training more family friendly

Need more female role models and

support networks

PCCs need to be more intrusive and

challenging of Chief Constables re the

diversity of the workforce

Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales

PSAEW Personal Resilience Survey Gender comparisons

(81% response rate)

Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales

PSAEW Personal Resilience Survey 2014 – Gender comparisons(81% response rate)

Higher proportion of

female members than male members

experienced SEVERE levels

of anxiety

Female members are more likely to seek treatment for

stress, anxiety and depression

Female members have higher sickness levels than men and are more likely to use annual leave to cover sickness than

caring responsibilities

89% of male members had zero days sickness in the last 12 months

compared to 81% of female members

Next Steps?

• Chief Officers Women’s Forum – mentoring• Support relevant national business areas• Re-establish support networks within PSAEW• Influence College of Policing regarding course

development, unconscious bias and research• Share national survey data with Chief Officers• Link with BAWP re Gender Agenda 3• Discussions with Association of PCCs

Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales

Thanks for listening!