Study shows biases undermine diversity efforts in policing

As more organizations attempt to increase the representation of women in traditionally male-dominated occupations (such as engineering, technology or banking), new research from George Washington University professor Jennifer Merluzzi indicates that simply hiring more women into these fields may not make diversity efforts more effective.

The study, published in American Sociological Review (April 2024), "A Hidden Barrier to Diversification? Performance Recognition Penalties for Incumbent Workers in Male-Dominated Occupations," looked at the impact of increasing gender representation within the traditionally male-dominated occupation of law enforcement.

Merluzzi and her co-author Jirs Meuris, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, examined publicly available data spanning 13 years on nearly 14,000 officers working in the Chicago Police Department (CPD). Their findings revealed a performance recognition penalty for men and women workers from the process of occupational diversification itself...