What Happens to Police Culture as More Women Enter the Profession?

9,792 police officers across 70 U.S. municipal police departments were surveyed to assess individual- and agency-level effects of gender on traditional police attitudes. Women differed from men in attitudes toward policing styles, use of force, perceptions of public support, and police solidarity. Larger proportions of women in a department had little relationship with the attitudes of men; however, police solidarity declined significantly among men once departments surpassed approximately 13% women. Cultural change is more likely to come from increasing the proportion of women than from expecting women to change male officers’ attitudes.