Gender policies and the position of women in the police force in European countries

There is still a wide gap between the participation of men and women in the police force. In this article, we discuss existing barriers to gender policies aimed at improving the situation of women in the police force in four European countries, namely, Sweden, Spain (more specifically, Catalonia), Austria, and the Netherlands. Interviews as well as an expert meeting have been held to gain insight into the barriers to gender equality. As it turns out, gender mainstreaming policies form an important key to the process of raising women’s position in the police force. Although organizational structures have to change before cultural issues can be addressed, the most important existing barrier to gender equality proves to be the culture within the organization: in all four countries we studied, the police force is still male-dominated. With respect to gender equality in the police force, Sweden shows itself to be a front runner, followed by the Netherlands, Austria, and latecomer Catalonia.