What’s Gender Got to Do With It? – $125.00

Many law enforcement agencies spend a lot of time and money on recruitment strategies aimed at bringing in qualified applicants, especially qualified minority, and female applicants. When there’s little to no return on their investments, struggling agencies may find themselves either resurrecting a historical process that never worked in the hopes of a different outcome, or implementing strategies used by other agencies that just don’t meet their needs.

This course is designed to help attendees learn of gender-based micro-aggressions, a contemporary form of sexism, and how manifestations of this phenomena within policing cultures may be endemic throughout law enforcement organizations.

The topics in this training are based on study findings and may inform agencies of opportunities for implementing more effective and targeted recruitment and retention strategies for including women in policing.

Topics in this training include:

• An overview of micro-aggressions and gender-based microaggression taxonomy,
• A depiction of how women officers described and responded to their experiences with gender-based micro-aggressions in policing,
• A description of how identity associations contributed to, and/or mitigated power dynamics and inequities experienced by female officers during gender-based microaggressive incidents, and
• Recommendations for targeted training and / or support resources designed to enhance recruitment and retention strategies for women in policing.

This course is taught by Dr. Toye Sanford, and is based on her study, Gender-based Microaggressions Experienced by Female Officers in Policing: A Qualitative Descriptive Study. Dr. Sanford served for over 26 years in law enforcement before retiring at the rank of sergeant from Phoenix Police Department, and also served one year as a reservist at the rank of major with the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZ DPS). Dr. Sanford held multiple assignments within policing and has been recognized by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for her work on early identification and intervention programs. She possesses a Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial/Organizational psychology, a Master of Education in Counseling – Human Relations, and a Bachelor of Science.