WOMEN IN POLICING IN SOUTH AFRICA – Project topics materials

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Male domination

Concerning the issue of male domination, respondent 5, a Xhosa Captain, had the following to say: There are definitely equal opportunities, but women are stopped to take up those opportunities. Definitely, nationally now it has cascaded down to our areas but females have been stopped to enjoy those opportunities. There are still remnants of the police force here in the service and that is why things are not working out the way that they are supposed to be in this government sector. Respondent 6, a South Sotho Superintendent, supported this view by the following statement: Females are not recognised at all. Why? This organisation is male dominant. The man is the boss and you can’t take that away. Respondent 12, a White Superintendent said the following: There is supposed to be equality. They tell you that they want to empower women, but the feeling that I get is that they still keep you down. If you look at the top management, there are no females there and I don’t think that women ever will be. Respondent 18, an Indian Superintendent, made the following statement: Until recently, it has been 10 years down the road now; I think that I am one of two females in the Province who was appointed as an Area Head (Unit name). It has taken almost 9 years for that to happen and we still don’t have a female at National level. I think there is one female Area Commissioner out of 43 Area Commissioners in this country.
It is clear from the above-mentioned; that the feelings amongst these respondents are that male domination still exists in the SAPS. These findings support the literature study. Men always seem to have the upper hand, according to Hakim (1996: 1), so that it is a struggle for women to get what they want. It is customary that women remain disadvantaged and discontented with their lot.

Equality

The following respondents thought that equality exists in the SAPS: Respondent 1, a white female Inspector, who has been in the police service for eleven years, said: These days, yes. Previously no. There were units that would not take in women, but these days if 1 out of 20 who apply for the job is a female, she may get the job, black and white does not matter. Since 1994, a lot of things have changed, we have equal opportunities in work to improve and empower ourselves, in studying for example. Respondent 5, a black Captain, who has been in the SAPS for 13 years, however states: There are definitely equal opportunities, but women are stopped to take up those opportunities. Definitely, nationally now it has cascaded down to our areas but we have been stopped to enjoy those opportunities. There are still remnants of the police force here in the service and that is why things are not working out the way that they are supposed to be in this government sector. Respondent 13, a white Superintendent, who has been in the police service for 21 years; reiterated by saying: Yes, there are equal work opportunities but it depends on oneself. Females can be Branch Commanders and Unit Commanders and even Directors. One day we may have our own Area Commander. Respondent 17, a Black Superintendent, who has been in the police for 16 years said: I think so, yes, with this transformation that we are busy with. There are equal opportunities for everybody now, as compared to the past. Respondent 26, a Coloured Captain, who has been in the police for 12 years, reiterated and said the following: Not before 1994, but now there are equal opportunities. Before there were courses that we could not attend – they looked at us as women. But now we can. Now they say we are equal.
Despite the perceptions of inequality, there was a feeling amongst these respondents that they thought that there was equality in the SAPS, but that they cannot necessarily tap into this. These findings support the literature. Heidensohn (1989: 14) says that in the USA, American society puts great stress on equality and all officers are called officers and not policemen or women; the uniforms are the same for both sexes and the women carry weapons as well which serves as a great equalizer. Westmarland (2001: 18) states that despite the equal opportunities legislation, a variety of studies have asserted that female officers are treated unjustly due to their gender. The main decision makers in the world are still men. It will only be when both men and women are defined as persons that equality will thrive in society (Muraskin & Alleman 1993: 45). The respondents are a medley of all the culture groups in South Africa presenting their views on the changes that have occurred in the South African Police since 1994. Bezuidenhout and Theron (2000: 28) found that all members of SAPS are treated in the same way. However, when colour is taken into consideration, the chances of black men and women as well as white women are considerately better than white men, due to the Government’s commitment to improve the conditions of those who had been previously disadvantaged.

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Race percentages

Regarding racial quotas, respondent 11, a White Superintendent had the following to say: Yes, if you don’t bring in affirmative action. These days it is about giving different races jobs. At the stations a certain percentage must be black and then male and female and then the other races are given jobs, but we cannot do anything about it, this is a government decision. The literature supported this finding. According to Keeton (2002: 48), the racial gap is closing dramatically, however, the progress with women has been much slower than expected. Most of the respondents felt that even though there should be equal opportunities for both male and female in the SAPS that this was not the case. It seems as if the feelings about equality stems mainly from not being promoted to a higher rank and it was generally felt that most of the ranks are still occupied mostly by men. It appears as if these respondents feel that equality has brought them more freedom, but that there are still problems experienced by them in this regard. If one takes into account the demographics of South Africa, there should be 50 percent males and 50 percent females in the police service. At the moment there are 135,000 members in the SAPS of which only 20 percent are females.
In general policewomen seem to feel that they have great obstacles to overcome, but when specifically asked about their treatment they are positive about their prospects, if not immediately, then definitely in the future. It would seem that they believe that gender equality will happen eventually.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGICAL FOUNDATION
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 RATIONALE OF THE STUDY
1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND GOALS
1.4 THE RESEARCH DESIGN
1.5 THE INTERVIEW PROCESS
1.6 FIELD JOURNAL
1.7 PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED
1.8 BIOGRAPHICAL DATA
1.9 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY
1.10 DATA ANALYSIS
1.11 CODING
1.12 GUIDING ASSUMPTIONS
1.13 LITERATURE REVIEW
1.14 DEFINITION OF TERMS
1.15 OUTLINE OF THE STUDY
CHAPTER 2 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF WOMEN IN POLICING
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 SETTING THE SCENE
2.3 POLICE WOMEN IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES …
2.4 WOMEN IN POLICING IN AMERICA AND BRITAIN
2.5 WOMEN IN POLICING IN SOUTH AFRICA
2.6 EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 3 MOTIVES FOR JOINING, TRAINING AND JOB SATISFACTION
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 MOTIVES FOR JOINING
3.3 FAMILY REACTIONS
3.4 TRAINING
3.5 RELATIONSHIPS
3.6 JOB SATISFACTION
3.7 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 4 GENDER DISCRIMINATION AND GENDER EQUALITY
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 PATRIARCHAL ATTITUDES
4.3 GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT
4.4 BARRIERS THAT FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS FACE
4.5 INTIMIDATING WORKING ENVIRONMENT
4.6 THE EMANICIPATION OF WOMEN
4.7 DEVELOPMENT OF GENDER EQUALITY
4.8 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 5 CHANGES AND CONTRIBUTION
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 TRANSFORMATION AND CHANGE
5.3 CONTRIBUTION OF POLICEWOMEN
5.4 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 6 HIERARCHY OF NEEDS AND SATISFACTION
CHAPTER 7 FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPH