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    Women in the Security Profession: A Practical Guide for Career Development
    Women in the Security Profession: A Practical Guide for Career Development
    Women in the Security Profession: A Practical Guide for Career Development
    Ebook563 pages5 hours

    Women in the Security Profession: A Practical Guide for Career Development

    By Sandi J. Davies

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    About this ebook

    Women in the Security Profession: A Practical Guide for Career Development is a resource for women considering a career in security, or for those seeking to advance to its highest levels of management. It provides a historical perspective on how women have evolved in the industry, as well as providing real-world tips and insights on how they can help shape its future.

    The comprehensive text helps women navigate their security careers, providing information on the educational requirements necessary to secure the wide-ranging positions in today’s security field. Women in the Security Profession describes available development opportunities, offering guidance from experienced women professionals who have risen through the ranks of different security sectors.

    • Features career profiles and case studies, including interviews with women in the industry, providing a deeper dive inside some exciting and rewarding careers in security
    • Provides a history of women in security, and an exploration of both current and expected trends
    • Offers experienced advice on how to resolve specific biases and issues relating to gender
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherElsevier Science
    Release dateSep 13, 2016
    ISBN9780128038888
    Women in the Security Profession: A Practical Guide for Career Development
    Author

    Sandi J. Davies

    Sandi J Davies has served as the Executive Director of the International Foundation for Protection Officers (IFPO) for more than 25 years. She is the former Chairperson of the Security Services Council for ASIS International, and is currently a member of the Security Services Council and the Women In Security Council of ASIS International. Sandi has edited eight editions of The Professional Protection Officer, as well as all four editions of Security Supervision: Theory and Practice of Asset Protection.

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      Book preview

      Women in the Security Profession - Sandi J. Davies

      Davies.

      Chapter 1

      History of Women in Security

      Liz Martinez

      Abstract

      For many years, service in the military or law enforcement has been the stepping stone to a security career. For a long time, the typical service member or police officer was male. Today, the percentage of private detectives and investigators who are women is 44, while only about 18 percent of security guards and gaming surveillance officers are women. Overall, the percentage of women employed in the investigations and security services sector is about 24. Allan Pinkerton hired the first female investigator, Kate Warne. In 1893 a woman named Mary Owens, who was left widowed when her police officer husband died, was given the rank of policeman by the Chicago Police Department. The 1970s saw an increase in women in the police and military, as well as in private security, as they left the uniformed services and found employment in the security field. The first woman to join ASIS International was Joan Craven Berry.

      Keywords

      Women in security; women investigators; Kate Warne; Mary Owens; Joan Craven Berry; first female investigator; first female police officer; first female member of ASIS International

      For many years, service in the military or law enforcement has been the stepping stone to a security career. For a long time, the typical service member or police officer was male. Today, more women are serving in all those professions, and many people are entering security as a first career, without prior military or police service.

      Women are a growing part of the security industry but have not yet achieved parity with men. According to the US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2014 report titled Women in the Labor Force: A Databook, the percentage of private detectives and investigators who are women is 44, while only about 18 percent of security guards and gaming surveillance officers are women. Overall, the percentage of women employed in the investigations and security services sector is about 24.

      The number of women in security is on the upswing, especially in the information security arena, where the number of women has doubled. Opportunities for women in technology security are great, as the only thing that matters in IT is the competence of the individual. Attributes that may keep women sidelined in uniformed security, such as size and strength, do not play a part behind a computer screen.

      Early History

      Although women have always played a part in security, their roles have been very limited until recently. Because they were unlikely to be suspected, women have acted as spies since time immemorial. In recent memory, the first woman hired as an official investigator was Kate Warne, who convinced Allan Pinkerton to take her on in 1856. Her rationale was that women could go unnoticed in places where male investigators could not and that they would be able to befriend the wives and girlfriends of suspected criminals without attracting attention.

      It was fitting that Allan Pinkerton hired the first female investigator, as he himself was considered the first detective in America. He was a pioneer in many ways, including recognizing the value of having female operatives. Warne was an excellent investigator and rose to become the head of the female investigation division as the Supervisor of Women Agents in Pinkerton’s Chicago office. Pinkerton considered her to be one of his very best operatives.

      Like men, women in the security field have often come out of the military or law enforcement, so it is worthwhile to examine the history of women in policing. In the 1800s, a few women were hired as jail matrons by some police departments. In 1893, a woman named Mary Owens, who was left widowed when her police officer husband died, was given the rank of policeman by the Chicago Police Department. Police widows were often offered some type of work by police departments, which did not provide any type of compensation for line-of-duty deaths in those days.

      Then in 1905, the Portland (Oregon) Police Department hired Lola Baldwin as the first sworn police officer in the United States. Her duties were to safeguard the morals of young women. However, the woman often considered the first policewoman was Alice Stebbin Wells, who in 1910 became a member of the Los Angeles Police Department. At that time, police departments around the country became willing to hire women for their supposed nurturing qualities in established bureaus that dealt with the problems of women and children. This trend continued until the 1950s, when female officers were given broader responsibilities. In the 1970s, legislative changes required law enforcement agencies to offer women opportunities as officers equal to those given to men.

      Women have served in the military in ancillary positions for centuries, but it was not until the 1800s that they formally filled certain roles, most notably acting as cooks and nurses. At the end of World War I and during World War II, women were allowed to hold other positions in the armed services, although they did not have the same benefits as male service members until 1948. In 1973, when the draft ended and the all-volunteer service was established, women were given greater opportunities in the military.

      Modern Times

      Not coincidentally, the 1970s saw an increase in women in the police and military and private security, as they left the uniformed services and found employment in the security field. The first woman to join ASIS¹ International was Joan Craven Berry, who spent 28 years in civil service with the US Air Force, following 2 years of service in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II. While working for the Air Force, Berry was sent to a 3-week Department of Defense Industrial Security Officer Orientation course, and her supervisor recommended that she join ASIS, where she became a founding member of the Rochester, New York, chapter.

      © 1979 ASIS International, 1625 Prince Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. Reprinted with permission from the August/September 1979 issue of ASIS Dynamics.

      Berry was the lone woman in her chapter for a number of years, and after rotating through the officer positions, she was snubbed when it should have been her turn as the chair. The men in the Denver chapter, where she belonged at the time, did not want a female chair.

      In the 1980s, other women experienced a lack of welcome in the organization. At that time, applicants had to submit their applications to the local chapter rather than to ASIS headquarters. At the local level, chairmen could block the women from joining, and some did. That changed in 1997, when all applications were routed directly to headquarters. Today, women serve in many important positions in the

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