This article discusses discrimination and harassment against policewomen.
Qualitative data from 21 in-depth interviews with women in two metropolitan departments, reveals how rank and tenure affected responses to negative coworker actions and attitudes. Most women abandoned putting up with harassment and bias after their earliest years in policing, but consistently felt compelled to respond to officers' tests of their abilities. High-rank women used coping strategies that provided some protections from assaults on their identities and negative treatment from coworkers. Certain coping strategies may enable some women to move up in rank. The power that comes with rank enabled women to take on unique approaches to addressing workplace discrimination and harassment. Abstract published by arrangement with Sage Journals.