Networking, mentoring, career tracking; these are words more likely to be heard at the local chamber of commerce than in the front seat of a patrol car. Yet, as corporate America re-evaluates how it does business, female law enforce­ment officers are examining and adopting effective business tactics to attain top levels in their profession.

Despite a continuing increase of women in police work, their numbers in leadership positions remain low, according to many law enforcement professionals. Women hold chief positions in major cities that include Atlanta, Los Angeles and Austin, but females make up only about 10 per­cent of the nation's law enforcement population. Meanwhile, many of those women have realized they face the same career advancement issues as do women employed in corporate management. It's that realization that has prompted many female police officers to join forces and aggressive­ly pursue helping each other advance to executive level ranks.

"Twenty years ago we were just lucky to get on," said Alana Ennis, director of public safety and police chief at Duke University. "You didn't even think about (advancement). All you were trying to do was just fit in."

Changing with the Times

Women in law enforcement were such anomalies, no one envisioned females holding leadership posi­tions, much less working in patrol, Ennis recalled. Adopting networking strategies used by business profession­als has made a tremendous difference in helping women realize their poten­tial and the opportunities available in law enforcement, she said.

Ennis has been dedicated to helping establish the Women's Police Chief Association, an organization that will offer networking opportunities to those seeking and holding high rank posts. The group, which is in its early stages, will focus on mentoring to oth­ers moving toward and planning to crash through the glass ceiling. Ennis said the organization has scheduled its first seminar this year.

Ennis, who served as director of pub­lic safety at the University of North Car­olina before moving to Duke, said men and women police officers share career issues, but years of tradition have given men the advantage.

She added that camaraderie among women has been low because so few women hold top level positions. Ennis is not alone in her beliefs.

"Even after being in law enforcement for 20 years, I never thought I'd be saying this-but we still have a long way to go," said Linda Cherry, president of the International Association of Women Police, which carries a membership of 2,000. Cherry, a deputy marshal with the U.S. Marshal Service, said women have discovered great benefits from establish­ing and maintaining contacts with female peers.

"Even though women have been in law enforcement a long time, there still are places where we are not fully given an opportunity to advance in our careers," Cherry said, adding that IAWP currently is developing executive train­ing programs designed to educate up ­and-coming women. Topics will include: what agencies are seeking in terms of administrators; how to super­vise male officers; how they respond to females in command positions; and how other women officers respond.

Making Contacts

Networking is important, she said, because there were no outlets in the past where female officers could find and communicate with each other. Today, several organizations exist that provide job information, mentor­ing services and educational assis­tance in preparing for targeting a route toward an executive position.

It is an issue that is gaining atten­tion from leaders in law enforcement. At the annual International Associa­tion of Chiefs of Police in Miami last year, for instance, a panel discussion focused on promotional opportunities for women police. Earlier in the year, at the annual conference for the Police Education and Research Foun­dation (PERF), a similar panel was created to address how women are utilizing business strategies for advancement.

At that seminar, the five-member panel of top female cops connected immediately and made a concerted effort to develop their association and stay in touch-which they have done, according to Chief Ellen T. Hanson, head of the Lenexa (Kansas) Police Department.

"We have exchanged information back and forth about job opportuni­ties-things that I've found out about and forwarded to several members on the panel," Hanson said. Many mem­bers contact each other via E-mail, telephone calls and conference calls, she added.

Hanson, who participated on the PERF panel, said that while it can be time consuming, networking is bene­ficial for women as they work toward breaking through the established male network-the result of what has traditionally been seen as a man's profession, she noted. Getting to the top is tough for men, and even more difficult for women, she said.

"It's an internal thing, breaking into the 'good old boy' network," Hanson explained. "That's why some of us feel strongly about separating. You can't break a group apart; you have to be a part of it and make things better from the inside. That's worked well for me," said Hanson, who has been a police officer for 20 years. Her female peers are focused on working at high levels with men, rather than alienating themselves. "We just want to be treated equally. That's all we ask."

A Juggling Act

According to statistics presented by the panel, only 9 percent of sworn officers working in the United States in 1993 were women. Today, 3 percent of those working as police officers hold the rank of sergeant. And only I percent hold command positions.

"Law enforcement is still not seen as viable employment for females," said panelist Joy Rikala, chief of police at the University of Minnesota, which is said to be the largest campus in the United States. Rikala, who has worked organized crime investigations, narcotics and police corruption, has served on several federal task forces studying continuing education and police devel­opment issues. She holds a master's degree in management and is a gradu­ate of the FBI Academy.

"Often, we get out of patrol and go into specialized units. Females become satisfied with that as a career goal, and there's no more development," Rikala said. She added that women must work harder than men to get considered for advancement to echelon levels; however, the time commitment often becomes too great. "The perception is that females have got to give more," she added.

That, says Hanson, is a major prob­lem for women. The only way for any officer-male or female-to get pro­moted is to work harder and be better than the others. That's not always easy.[PAGEBREAK]

Hanson-a single mom-and other top female law enforcement officials note that women often have "more to juggle" than men, and they simply find it too much work to seek special assign­ments or command opportunities that would take them away from their chil­dren. Often, if a spouse is not supp0l1­ive, mobilizing in the middle of the night and worrying about who will take care of the kids can pose a major problem.

"I still believe that women who have families have it harder. Unless you have that rare commodity-a husband who is an egalitarian-women carry more of the burden," Hanson said. Many women, she added, question how they can be on a tactical team with extra callouts while having a family life.

For Judy Wright, a former officer with the Orlando (Fla.) Police Depart­ment, family life had to take priority. Wright and her husband, Charlie, met while they were in the police academy. After they married, they were once assigned to the same squad.

However, when they started a family, their son had health problems that required extra attention. The couple's work schedules became complicated.

Judy left after serving nearly nine years in law enforcement. Her husband advanced to the second highest ranking position in the department and is now one of four deputy chiefs with the department. Judy later became a school teacher, but said she misses and regrets leaving law enforcement.

Bearing the Burden

Hanson, who has five female officers in her department, added that women feel added pressures. Some women fear that if they fail at a task, it not only would reflect badly on them-but on all women cops. "Sometimes we're our own worst enemy by talking ourselves out of taking advantage of the opportu­nities that are presented," she said.

"I've gathered that there is still some resistance in the internal workings of the organization-that it's still a man's world out there," she noted, adding that young female officers need to seek as much "good" experience as possible, such as serving as head of squad.

"Those experiences are hard to come by for women," she said. "Women do well in them, but for pro­motional purposes, it's the other pieces that are difficult."

Hanson added, "We have learned from the private sector-our counterparts out there-that you don't have to sit back and hope things happen. There are ways to make things happen." And women now are learning to work as a group and support each other toward advancing. She said she would advise women cops not to be afraid to "take risks and try for those special assignments."

Training for Advancement

One way for women to advance their careers is to partake in the Senior Management Institute for Police, which is offered through PERF. The 17-year-old program has traditionally been attended by high-­ranking male officers from across the country. Director Tony Nan says, however, that enrollment of women officers has increased over the years.

The intensive educational program is designed for those officers who've already reached high management levels and are "likely to lead (law enforcement) into the next decade."

Nan said the management training program has increased in importance. Until recently, law enforcement had no real competition. Nan said that now, with the trend toward privatiza­tion, police agencies are being forced to run more efficiently and cost effec­tively. And, he added, police agencies are having to answer to their "customers"-the public. "We're entering a whole new era of police management," said Narr, a former Baltimore police captain.

Many of the institute's instructors come from Harvard University. Narr said much of the program focuses on case studies of issues that have impact­ed business, and how those issues are translated to law enforcement manage­ment concerns. "It brings to focus some things they may not have thought about before," Narr noted.

Some of the instruction includes sound business practices that most may have never considered applying to law enforcement. For instance, students learn the philosophy of how to change the direction of an agency, how to develop a mission statement, and why. Students learn to comprehend the political ramifi­cations for their actions and decisions.

"We've come to learn that what's most crucial is identifying the cause of the problem and then eradicating it," Narr added. "We're trying to bring business practices and principles into law enforcement. This takes' (students) to another plateau."

Students can also take advantage of the networking opportunities, Narr said. Here they develop rela­tionships that are the ultimate in net­working." That, said Narr, is impor­tant to the career paths of both men and women. But he acknowledged that women have the challenge of a well-established managerial system already in place.

Seeking Out Mentors

Surprisingly, women have played critical roles in law enforcement for more than a century. Cherry, who is based in Des Moines, Iowa, said the organization she heads was established in 1915 by a handful of women police working in Milwaukee. She noted that the first official police woman in U.S. history was Alice Stebbins, who worked in Los Angeles in 1910.

"She was a pioneer in preventive issues," related to children, women, dance hall activity and crime preven­tion, Cherry said. These are issues typi­cally associated with women.[PAGEBREAK]

She was not alone. The Los Angeles Women's Police Association (LAWPA), whose current membership stands at 210, was established in 1925 by 10 women employed by the police department. Lt. Ann Young, president of LAWPA, said that even back then, women found they needed the support of each other to dis­cuss their experiences in work.

At that time, explained Young, women were not permitted to work on patrol. Instead they were assigned desk jobs, work with juveniles or handled investigations of minor accidents; work that was to be completed from the office rather than in the field.

"Women always have to work harder (to advance)," Young said. That's why the LA WPA is important. "We strive to network together to assist women in the promotional process, as well as with an array of other problems. We have a mentoring program."

Part of that mentoring process includes educating and encouraging women to seek high level ranks and understand that the rewards can be great. The organization's mentoring program includes assisting women in understanding the options available, how to chart career paths and how to target a specific position, such as head­ing a drug investigation unit or internal affairs. Additionally, the group offers help in preparing female officers for interviews, testing as well as the nega­tives of holding a command post.

Ennis said that when she first took a chief's position at a "very trou­bled" department, she believed she per­sonally had to be responsible for com­plaints, lawsuits and other public issues that occurred. She eventually realized that such problems were "just business."

"Women take things personally. We tend to think that we're being sued because we've done something wrong," Ennis said. "It's just something that hap­pens out here."

Rikala echoes Ennis' sentiments. "It's hard to work with new rules when no one has defined them," she said. More energy must be devoted to helping women learn about their new roles, yet few models exist. Instead, there are "feelings of isolation, a lack of numbers, role models."

Rikala recommended that law enforcement agencies start marketing career advancement opportunities in recruitment to make the profession more inviting to women.

"It really has to do with how you sell yourself, and that goes for males as well," Rikala said. "You have to devel­op yourself as roundly as possible, build your universal self. It's part of the game."

Entering the Boy's Club

Learning how to play "the game" can be tough for women, who are often accused of being too emotional. "I had no clue as to how the politics worked," explained Elizabeth Watson, chief of the Austin (Texas) Police Department and former chief of the Houston Police Department.

After two years serving as Hous­ton's first female chief, Watson was demoted to assistant chief when the city's mayor wasn't re-elected. That's just how the city's governmental struc­ture worked, she said.

"I prided myself on being the con­summate professional. It didn't mat­ter how good you were," said Watson, adding that she's since become "thick-skinned."

Watson, who entered law enforce­ment at the urging of her mother, said she never envisioned becoming head of any agency. In fact, she said that when another woman became the first female lieutenant in the department, Watson reacted just like her male coworkers­ all of whom were hesitant about working for a woman of rank. "I had no frame of reference," she said.

Shortly after Watson became the department's second female lieutenant, the first woman resigned.

"I had a very difficult time," Watson recalled. She said that early in her career, she had been prohibited from working patrol; therefore, she lacked that experience when she was promot­ed. No one would work with her. Even­tually, she accepted what was consid­ered the most unpopular assignment ­patrolling the city's most dangerous zone-and gained her experience that way. Male officers booed and hissed at her on duty, which made the job that much more unpleasant.

It was the strong encouragement from her police officer husband that got her interested in advancement. However, initially she had resigned herself to never outranking her hus­band, who also worked for Houston PD. He challenged her to take the test for lieutenant; when she passed, "he was proud and happy," she said, adding that it was her husband who encouraged her to accept the appointed position as chief when it was offered.

Playing the Part

One odd problem she experienced was that there were no dress uniforms available for women chiefs, so she designed one and had it made. Since then, she has seen other female chiefs sporting uniforms similar to the one she designed. Watson, a mother of three, said she is pleased to see other women moving up the ladder.

"I think there is a great deal of net­working that has real positive implica­tions. I think it will be easy for women in policing in the future to do things that were unheard of in the '70s, when I started," said Watson, a member of the Women Police Chiefs Association.

Young's organization is proof of that.

Young said the LA WPA is included in the agency's recruitment program, which is particularly meaningful because the organization is enjoying strong support from administrative levels.

The organization has accomplished a great deal as well. Specifically, mem­bers campaigned for 24-hour child­care service for officers who are par­ents. The issue affects men just as much as women, Young said, citing the profession's tendency for police offi­cers to marry each other.

Having constant daycare available is a definite advantage. And if a married two-cop couple "gets mobilized in the middle of the night," there is no problem finding someone to care for the kids at odd hours.

Adding to the problem, Rikala explained, is a lack of "organizational readiness" on the part of law enforce­ment agencies; however, that seems to be improving. Rikala said some progress is inhibited by media reports about women's accomplishments, marking them as the first women in their areas of achievement.

That adds pressure to a female offi­cer, who then becomes an unwilling representative of the department and of women in general. Other issues of mar­riage, pregnancy and parenting are still considered a negative, but they should not be, Rikala said.

Ennis said the Women's Police Chief Association that is in formation is the result of women wanting to share their problems and concerns with their peers, of which there are so few. How­ever, through e-mail and travel in the same professional circles, women are staying in touch with each other.

The growing interest and increased ease in staying in contact will contribute to obtaining and maintaining more detailed informa­tion and data about pertinent issues, she noted. The goal is to ensure suc­cess at an executive level due to law enforcement opportunities-rather than in spite of them.

Sara Roen is a freelance writer based in Orlando, Fla., and a frequent contributor to POLICE.