Policing and Gender: Male and Female Perspectives among Members of the New Zealand Police

Abstract

In 1996, the New Zealand Police (NZP) obtained a stratified random sample of 536 personnel. This study examines possible gender differences in this sample for such work-related factors as supervisory fairness, supervisory support, and job satisfaction. Prior research suggests that male and female officers may have similar work-place perceptions, but that they do not necessarily arrive at these perceptions in the same fashion. Two research questions guide this study: (1) In terms of perceptions of the work place, including job satisfaction, level of perceived support, and fairness of their supervisors, are female and male sworn officers in the New Zealand Police more like each other or their same-gender nonsworn cohort? (2) What are the effects of variables such as ethnicity, age, length of service, type of work assignment, work location, and orientations toward policing on the relationships between perceptions of the work place, gender and sworn status? Indeed, the analyses suggest that while much is similar about the men and women who provide policing services in New Zealand, their respective views of the work place are due to somewhat different sets of forces. The policy implications of the findings for police research generally and gender-based police research in particular are also addressed.