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Gender diversification in police agencies: is it a zero-sum game?

Jeffrey Nowacki (Department of Sociology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA)
Joseph Schafer (Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA)
Julie Hibdon (Criminology and Criminal Justice, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, Illinois, USA)

Policing: An International Journal

ISSN: 1363-951X

Article publication date: 29 July 2021

Issue publication date: 22 October 2021

397

Abstract

Purpose

The article first examines whether police hiring decisions represent a zero-sum game where hires from one under-represented group (e.g. White women) reduce the number of hires made from other under-represented groups (non-White men and/or non-White women). Second, we explore whether agencies that hire more members of underrepresented groups achieve more diverse applicant pools in future hiring cycles. Negative binomial regression techniques are used in both analyses.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for this study come from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEAs) from 2011 to 2016. These data are divided into two periods: Period A (2011–2013) and Period B (2014–2016). The two periods are combined to assess a zero-sum effect. Then, Period A data on hiring decisions is used to estimate the diversity in applicant pools in Period B.

Findings

Results from this study provided little evidence of a zero-sum effect. It does not seem that agencies that hire from one under-represented group are less likely to hire from others. Instead, agencies that have shown a commitment to diversification are more likely to make additional hires from under-represented groups. We also found evidence of a relationship between Period A hires and Period B applicant pools for Hispanic women, but not for other groups. Broadly, we found that agencies where a larger share of officers are women were more likely to hire more women applicants.

Originality/value

Previous research examining zero-sum effects in hiring rely on officer rosters rather than specific applicant and hiring data. The data used in this study allows for a more precise examination of hiring decisions, and allows us to link hiring decisions to future applicant pool composition.

Keywords

Citation

Nowacki, J., Schafer, J. and Hibdon, J. (2021), "Gender diversification in police agencies: is it a zero-sum game?", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 44 No. 6, pp. 1077-1092. https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-02-2021-0033

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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