Women have made many inroads in policing, but barriers remain to achieving gender equity

Last week, the Australasian Council of Women and Policing held its 2019 conference, with a focus on how law enforcement responds to women in the communities they serve and how police services can expand opportunities for women in leadership positions.

Although opportunities for women in policing have expanded over time, their overall numbers remain relatively low. Nationwide, about a third of all police personnel were women in 2017-18, but barriers remain to states achieving their goals of reaching 50-50 gender parity on police forces.