Perceived Occupational Bias in Hiring Practices

As previously explored in chapter six, participant’s perceptions of hiring practices of genderqueer identities were examined. Yet, police who identified as transgender (i.e. MTF, FTM, transgender, cross-dresser, etc.) rather than genderqueer, reported similar perceptions of hiring bias within policing. Holly, like all trans participants, stated:

We have had some transgender applications, but they have not been accepted for various reasons, mostly because they are transgender. I observed two different background investigations going on at the same time with the exact same information: one agency hired the individual and the other did not. There was no reason not to hire the trans applicants in both agencies.

Liv, another American trans officer, stated:

There is no way any department would hire you if they thought you are trans. It is viewed as a red-flag indicator that you might have problems in the future. There is a perception that if you are trans you are mentally ill, and if you are mentally ill then you cannot be a police officer. It’s sad really. I think that is why a lot of trans people do not apply to policing, because most know they will be weeded out during the hiring process and not given a fair chance.

152 Mirroring Holly and Liv, Josie stated:

I have heard of trans potential applicants not even being given an application when they ask for one or any fair assistance during their application process. It has been made quite clear to the community that departments do not want trans officers.

All British constables, like their American counterparts, stated that they also perceived forms of trans bias within police hiring practices. Clair stated:

If they know you are trans, technically they can’t not hire you because of it, but they can easily find another reason not to because you are.

Sarah, another British constable, disclosed that discrepancies may exist between recruitment numbers and the actual hiring numbers of trans identities:

Sure, on paper and in the public eye constabularies are saying they are hiring trans constables, but where are they at? I know several members of the community who would be great constables who applied but were not hired because they are trans. There is a difference between recruiting potential trans employees than actually hiring them.

Erin stated:

There is no way to tell what the actual hiring numbers of the trans community is … It is unknown how many applicants are actual trans … There are other ways they can decide to not hire you if you are trans.

While all British trans participants stated that they perceived the existence of hiring bias within policing, some participants disclosed that some constabularies were better than others. Ellie stated:

There has been improvements in some constabularies, but bias still exists in hiring practices. I know some big constabularies like Manchester are doing much better about hiring practices because they are recruiting the trans community, but there is no consistency between hiring practices in the constabularies. So, you may get hired in one constabulary, but not even considered in another.

When I inquired about how participants obtained employment, since they perceive trans bias exists in police hiring practices, all participants disclosed that they didn’t transition until after employment, or, in one participant’s case, they hired her without knowing she had transitioned prior to employment. This finding was anticipated because previous research has already shown that transgender identities are outwardly discriminated against during American hiring practices in other professions (see: Lombardi et al., 2001; Mallory et al., 2014) and within law enforcement in general (see: Sears et al., 2013). Of particular interest is Sears et al.’s (2013) study, which reviewed 57 employment court

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cases in America between 2000 and 2013 and found several key findings that are consistent with the perceptions of participants. Sears et al. (2013) found that out of all the studied 57 court cases spanning all areas of employment, 40% of all filed reports involving documented LGBT discrimination occurred specifically within law enforcement professions. Notably, in due course, this is an area that I intend on following upon with future research.

7.2.3 “Out of the Public’s Eyes”: Transwomen’s Transitions

MTF participants disclosed that when going through the process of transitioning, they were often forced into another assignment or forced to take time off from work as sick leave because they are, as Josie, an American officer, stated: “less likely to be in the presence of the general public”. Notably, I personally observed this when I worked with our department’s first transgender officer, who was moved from patrol to communications when transitioning. As she disclosed to me: “they are afraid that I will make the department look bad and they want to keep me out of the public’s eyes”. Jessie, an American officer, disclosed that she was unwillingly removed from her job assignments and transferred to a different administrative assignment:

They pulled me off the streets so I can transition out of view of the public. I felt uncomfortable … Many other officers had the same type of experience I had in the same time period. I personally know of some federal agents who were gonna transition and they basically put them on medical leave … because they didn’t want them in the office.

Like Jessie, Amber, a British constable, stated:

They moved me to a paperwork assignment and away with less interaction with the public and others. At first I didn’t like it and some would see it as some sort of punishment, but I actually enjoyed it. It allowed me to transition safely without facing dismissal for transitioning.

Amber was the only MTF constable who disclosed that she enjoyed her forced job reassignment during transitioning. Notably, she disclosed that she was just thankful that she was not terminated for transitioning. Almost all of my MTF participants disclosed that if they were reassigned during transition, they weren’t reassigned willingly. As Clair, another British constable, stated:

In a way this can single you out, because there are some cisgender constables who actually want an administrative position, but I wanted to stay on the streets like other employees. So you can understand why some cisgender people would get upset if you get moved to a position they want.

Clair was not alone in her preference for not being reassigned to an administrative position. As Elizabeth stated:

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I love being on the street and on patrol. I did not want to be assigned to a paper- pushing position.

When looking at American, English and Welsh police comparatively, unwanted job transfers were a reported common practice within policing when transitioning from male to female, but were never reported when transitioning from female to male. I believe this can be explained in several possible ways. First, within police culture, gender ideologies exist that positively reinforce masculinity and reject femininity, as explored in chapter six. Therefore, within policing it is perceived to be more socially acceptable to exhibit masculine traits than feminine traits. Second, there are socialised perceptions within policing of gendered bodies and how these bodies are perceived; this was also explored in chapter six. Gendered perceptions of the human body (i.e. constructs of masculinity) are often associated with strength and muscles (see: Zimmer, 1986), which are desirable traits for policing (see: Heidensohn, 1993; Hunt, 1990). Therefore, transmen may be viewed as being more physically able to handle aspects of their job than trans feminine identities. Third, transitioning from male to female involves more drastic physical changes in presentation (i.e. growing of hair, nails, make-up, etc.), whereas a female-to- male transition might not be as visually noticeable because police are not allowed to grow facial hair120_{, it is socially acceptable for men and women to have short hair, and body}

armour may hide any evidence of a chest surgery. Arguably, the more perceived visual perception of non-heteronormative bodies may attract negative attention with policing (see: Dwyer, 2011).

Yet, another argument could be made that MTFs could be administratively punished via job transfers because they are actively perceived as rejecting masculinity. Corsiano (2009) found that displays of masculinity are culturally the norm; therefore, any expression of femininity disrupts masculine perceptions of policing environments. In reaction to this perceived active resistance to a cultural norm (i.e. masculinity) within policing, MTFs may be more administratively punished.

Finally, one of the reported reasons given by participants for being removed from the street and put into an administrative role was uniform regulations. Unlike FTM identities, all MTF participants disclosed that they have been administratively punished, or threatened with punishment, for various occupational uniform violations while transitioning. Participants disclosed that they were administratively punished for the following violations:

120 _{The exception would be officers assigned to undercover or those officers who have medical reasons for}

having facial hair. Some police organisations in the US and the UK operate under a paramilitary uniform policy which requires officers to be clean-shaven.

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Figure 7.2 Participants Disclosure of Formal Administration Punishment, or Threatened Administrative Punishment121

American Participant Reason for Uniform

Violation

Disclosed Frequency of Occurrence

Holly Hair-length violation 2

Jessie Finger-nail violation 1

Liv Hair-length violation 1

Wearing of earrings 1

Josie ‘males’ are not to wear

make-up

1

British Participant Reasons for Uniform

Violation

Disclosed Frequency of Occurrence

Sarah Collar-length hair violation 2

Amber Make-up violation 1

Uniform violation (“wrong gendered uniform”)

2

Elizabeth Collar-length hair violation 3

Uniform violation (“wrong gendered uniform”)

1

Clair Collar-length hair violation 3

Uniform violation (“wrong gendered uniform”)

2

Ellie Collar-length hair violation 1

Addison Collar-length violation 1

Often these uniform violations were issued due to their physical presentation during transitioning. MTF officers were written up for violating ‘male’ uniform violations despite the fact that they were transitioning or had previously transitioned as ‘female’. As discussed in chapter five, this can occur because MTF police are often still perceived as ‘male’.

Yet, another argument could be made that MTFs could be administratively punished via job transfers because they are actively perceived as rejecting masculinity, a perceived desirable trait of a ‘working police personality’. Corsiano (2009) found that displays of masculinity are culturally the norm; therefore, any expression of femininity disrupts masculine perceptions of policing environments. In reaction to this perceived active

121 _{Formal administration punishment is included with threats of administrative punishment because:}

threats of formal administration punishment also imply administrative unacceptance, I was unable to confirm formal reports versus threats of formal reports due to organisational employee confidentiality concerns, and participants disclosed that threats were just as upsetting as the formal filing of a report.

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resistance to a cultural norm (i.e. masculinity) within policing, MTFs may be more administratively punished.

Comparatively, when examining participant disclosure of uniform violations122_{, gendered}

uniforms were an observable difference between American participants and British participants123. American participants, who wear unisexed uniforms, reported fewer incidents of uniform violations, while British participants reported more frequent incidents124. Arguably, gendered uniforms could be perceived as reinforcing polarity between what is desirable (i.e. masculinity) and what is not desirable (i.e. femininity), since male masculinity is more frequent and accepted within policing (see: Appier, 1998; Crank, 1988; Heidensohn, 1992; Hunt, 1990).

Further, a gendered divide in uniforms may further heighten observable gendered differences within police culture. Goffman (1977)125 _{explained that observed gendered}

differences could lead to more social divisions with cultures. These social divisions could be a plausible explanation for why more British MTFs than American MTF officers are punished for uniform violations. By adopting a unisex uniform, American officers are slightly reducing this observable social division.