Full Citation
Title: Police Income and Occupational Gender Inequality
Citation Type: Journal Article
Publication Year: 2019
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611119862654
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Abstract: Research has found a meaningful income gap between males and females across several occupational settings, and this is also true within law enforcement. As more female workers enter the criminal justice system, it is important to revisit and update these patterns of gender inequality to account for the changing gender dynamics within this occupation. Using Current Population Survey data, we document the gender differences in pay among police over the past 28 years. Police officers experience income advantage compared with the general working population, but they also show a stable gender gap in pay. While this stable inequality is better than other public-sector jobs—which have experienced a growth in the gender pay gap—it represents a continued disadvantage for police women, despite the growing number of women working in law enforcement and the rules governing public-sector employment. We further decompose the gendered pattern in police pay by whether these individuals work for federal, state, or local agencies, and find that those working for state government show stark declines in the gender gap in pay while those working for local or federal agencies experience little to no change in this gender income inequality over time. We conclude with a discussion of the policy implications of our findings and directions for future research on gender inequality within law enforcement occupations.
Url: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1098611119862654
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Authors: Iris Luo, Xiaoshuang; Schleifer, Cyrus; Hill, Christopher, M
Periodical (Full): Police Quarterly
Issue: 4
Volume: 22
Pages: 481-510
Data Collections: IPUMS CPS
Topics: Gender, Labor Force and Occupational Structure
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