Australian Journal of Public Administration, vol. 72, no. 4, pp. 459–472 doi:10.1111/1467-8500.

12043

RESEARCH AND EVALUATION

Women Police in Post-Fitzgerald Queensland:

A 20 Year Review

Tim Prenzler
Jacqueline Drew
Griffith University

The Fitzgerald report was the catalyst for major reforms to Queensland’s system of gov-
ernment and criminal justice, and included explicit recommendations related to women in
policing. Reforms led to the removal of discriminatory barriers and significant improvements
in the recruitment and promotion of women. However, these changes provoked a backlash in
the 1990s that led to reductions in female recruitment. A return to less discriminatory policies
eventually ensued, with steady improvements on key equity indicators. This paper provides a
historical perspective on developments over the two decades since Fitzgerald, and includes a
critical analysis of the implementation of contemporary equity and diversity strategies within
the policing context. Recruitment of women police in Queensland has plateaued at one-third
and progress in the overall number of sworn women and women in management is slow.
The paper concludes by emphasising the wider lessons for a more developed and proactive
gender equity program in public sector employment and policing.

Key words: women police, equity in public employment, Fitzgerald reforms

Background and Method
Policing is a core public service in all modern
states. A common form of democratic policing
was developed in the nineteenth century, based
on formal recruitment, training and supervi-
sion standards. However, these ‘new police’
excluded women, and male police were also
often highly insensitive to female victims of
crime (Martin and Jurik 2007). It was only late
in the twentieth century that discriminatory bar-
riers were removed in most developed countries
(Martin and Jurik 2007). Policing was seen as a
natural male monopoly, based on myths about
women’s physical limitations. These myths pre-
dominated, despite research in the 1970s and
’80s showing that women police were just as
effective as men (Lunneborg 1998).
The employment of women police is now
recognised as involving diverse benefits. In
terms of police service delivery, not only have
female officers been shown to be as capable as
males, they are also generally better at diffus-

C 2013 National Council of the Institute of Public Administration Australia
ing conflict and less reliant on force (Corsianos
2011; National Center for Women and Policing
2002). Women police also tend to receive fewer
complaints, especially in relation to excessive
force; and the presence of women police pro-
vides an alternative contact point for victims of
crime who are reluctant to interact with male
officers. In addition, in line with a more sub-
stantive concept of ‘democratic policing’, po-
lice are now expected to more accurately reflect
the communities they serve in their personnel
profiles, and this principle is reinforced through
public support for female officers (Lunneborg
1998; National Center for Women and Policing
2002).
More generally, despite the likely improve-
ments in police performance, equal opportu-
nity principles and legislation provide the pri-
mary justification for encouraging women into
careers in policing. Equity in policing sup-
ports the global mission to create genuine
equality and independence for women – espe-
cially through employment, as well as better
460 Women Police in Post-Fitzgerald Queensland
delivery of social services (United Nations
2009). Policing can offer secure and stimulat-
ing work for women, with increasing oppor-
tunities for flexible employment and access to
paid parental leave.
Research commissioned by the British Asso-
ciation of Women Police suggested that a 35%
representation of female officers was neces-
sary for adequate career progression and cul-
tural integration (Brown, Hegarty and O’Neill
2006). However, recent research indicates that
in most developed democracies the percentage
of sworn women police remains at or below one
quarter, with much lower numbers in manage-
ment ranks, and with women from racial or eth-
nic minorities suffering greater marginalisation
(Cordner and Cordner 2011; van Ewijk 2012).
Women also remain grossly under-represented
in most non-democratic nations or emerging
democracies (Natarajin 2008). Recent research
also points to a levelling out in female re-
cruit numbers in the advanced jurisdictions –
around one third in the more optimistic scenar-
ios – and a possible problem with female attri-
tion (Cordner and Cordner 2011; van Ewijk
2012). In order to address these problems,
stakeholder groups have been calling for case
study research on effective practice, with trans-
ferable lessons to other jurisdictions (Cordner
and Cordner, 2011).
The Queensland Police Service (QPS)
presents as a potential case study of effective
practice in gender equity, with the 1987–89
Fitzgerald Inquiry providing the impetus for a
major program of reform. The literature iden-
tifies Queensland as a lead agency for the em-
ployment of women police in Australia in the
post-Fitzgerald period (Prenzler 1994). How-
ever, in recent years the State appears to have
slipped behind some other Australian jurisdic-
tions. For example, in their 2008 review of the
status of women in Australian policing, Pren-
zler, Fleming and King (2010) found that Tas-
mania and New South Wales had 26% female
officers compared to Queensland with 25%;
while Tasmania and Victoria has female re-
cruits numbers around 40% compared to 33%
in Queensland.
The Fitzgerald Commission of Inquiry was
arguably the most important inquiry in Queens-

C 2013 National Council of the Institute of Public Administration Australia
December 2013
land’s political history, providing a prominent
test case for police and public sector reform
internationally (Lewis, Ransley and Homel
2010). The report (Fitzgerald 1989) was pri-
marily concerned with exposing and correct-
ing police and public sector misconduct, but a
few brief references to women police set in train
major reforms in the area of gender equity. This
was augmented by the moderate affirmative ac-
tion principles contained in state public sector
equity legislation. Prior to Fitzgerald, Queens-
land was considered particularly backward in
the areas of merit and equity in public sector
employment, and the Police Service was iden-
tified as extremely sexist (Drew and Prenzler
2010).
The present study uses a mixed methods
approach, integrating primary and secondary
sources around a narrative framework. It ex-
amines how the gender equity agenda in polic-
ing has been addressed in Queensland. Primary
sources include public source material, specif-
ically QPS annual reports and statistical re-
views, ad hoc inquiry reports by government
agencies, and newspaper reports. The QPS
supplied material not available on the public
record, including personnel data, and equal em-
ployment opportunity management plans and
reports. Secondary sources include academic
studies and research theses. Apart from provid-
ing a critique of past and contemporary practice
in the Queensland Police Service (QPS), the
present study has wide implications for gender
equity in other police departments and, more
generally, for the progress of women in male
dominated working environments.
Narrative
The pre-Fitzgerald era
Women police officers were first appointed
in Europe and the United States in the early
years of the twentieth century (Owings 1969).
In Australia, the first female police officer was
appointed in New South in 1915, and by 1917
all states had women police except Queens-
land (Prenzler 1994). The first appointments
resulted from the lobbying efforts of women’s
 Prenzler and Drew
activist groups and the labour shortage caused
by military enlistments in World War One.
The Queensland Police Force (QPF) was estab-
lished in 1864 but the first women, two in num-
ber, were not appointed until 1931. The change
is attributable to the work of Irene Longman,
elected to State parliament in 1929. Longman
persuaded Cabinet of the social welfare bene-
fits of women police in the face of half-hearted
opposition from police management and vitu-
perative opposition from the police union (Fal-
lon 2002; Prenzler 1998).
Social upheaval in Brisbane during World
War Two allowed an increase in numbers of
women police to nine, and formal organisa-
tion into a Police Women Section (Prenzler
1998). Full powers were achieved in 1965,
with an expansion of duties and numbers un-
der the patronage of Commissioner Bischof.
At the same time, women were subject to a
marriage restriction and lower wages, and con-
stituted only approximately one percent of per-
sonnel. Formal integration was achieved as part
of Commissioner Whitrod’s attempt to improve
the educational standards of police in the first
half of the 1970s, when female numbers in-
creased to almost 10 percent. However, inte-
gration provoked fierce opposition from the
Police Union, including allegations that male
officers were sexually compromised by sharing
squad cars with female officers. Commissioner
Lewis (1976–1987) stopped the recruitment of
female cadets, set a quota on female adult en-
try, and attempted to remove lesbian officers
(Prenzler 1995: 44–52). The delayed entry of
women into the QPF, and the reversals under
Lewis, have been cited as lending some sup-
port to the ‘Queensland is different’ thesis in
relation to historical traditions of intense con-
servatism and chauvinism (Prenzler 1995; cf;
Charlton 1987).
The Fitzgerald Inquiry
In 1987, the Fitzgerald Inquiry was established
to investigate allegations of police corruption
in Queensland. The Inquiry tabled a wide rang-
ing report in July 1989 that associated high
levels of police corruption with maladminis-
tration in both the police and government. In

C 2013 National Council of the Institute of Public Administration Australia
461
1991, former Commissioner Lewis was sen-
tenced to 14 years jail and, by 1994, 219 in-
dividuals including ex police, brothel keepers,
SP bookmakers and a handful of politicians had
been charged with corruption-related offences
(Courier Mail 1994: 7). The Fitzgerald Re-
port included a subsection ‘8.4.3 Recruitment
of Women’, within a chapter on personnel is-
sues and policing strategies. The reference was
prompted by a submission from the Past and
Present Policewomen’s Association of Queens-
land (1989), focused mainly on administrative
issues. Christine Lidgard and Jill Bolen wrote
the submission, which strongly recommended
promotion by merit and the removal of dis-
criminatory barriers in recruitment. The sub-
mission cited research indicating that women
police were less likely to engage in corrup-
tion. It was also noted that women police had
a stronger service orientation than male po-
lice. This was an important finding given the
emerging philosophy of community policing
– an approach to policing focused on the es-
tablishment of working relationships between
police and the community in the reduction of
crime and crime-related problems.
The context of Fitzgerald’s discussion of
gender made it clear that sex discrimination
was part of a culture of insularity and cyni-
cism in the Force that buttressed corruption. At
the time, there were two entry programs into
the QPF, the cadet and probationary programs.
Cadets were Grade 12 graduates, and proba-
tionary recruits were between 18 and 40 years
old who had completed Grade 10. Fitzgerald
reported that, ‘At present, women may only en-
ter as probationers and an informal process has
operated to keep the number of female police
officers selected in any intake to between 5 and
12% although women comprise 25% of appli-
cants’ (Fitzgerald 1989: 246). The half page
subsection in the Fitzgerald report concluded
with an argument against quotas in the name
of appointment by merit, but with a somewhat
ambiguous nod towards affirmative action:
The emphasis should be upon recruiting the best
possible applicants for police service. The in-
troduction of an inflexible female quota system
for initial training intakes is unlikely to achieve
462 Women Police in Post-Fitzgerald Queensland
this. Special programmes may be necessary to at-
tract qualified applicants who may not otherwise
consider a police career. This will result in the
recruitment of people better suited to the crime
prevention emphasis of the Force, irrespective of
sex, race or religion (Fitzgerald 1989: 246).
Fitzgerald’s (1989) full report included an ex-
tensive reform program to establish greater ac-
countability in public life. Recommendations
included the establishment of an independent
body, the Criminal Justice Commission, to
oversee the police and prevent public sector
corruption; and the adoption of a community
policing philosophy as a major strategic re-
orientation.
The Impact of Fitzgerald on gender
equity in policing
The direction of the Fitzgerald Inquiry gener-
ated a number of responses within the Police
Force prior to the release of the final report,
including an expanded recruitment target for
women. The QPF introduced a policy focused
on increasing the percentage of sworn women
to seven percent, to be achieved by increas-
ing the percentage of female recruits to 20
percent. Four months after the release of the
Fitzgerald Report, in November 1989, the Act-
ing Commissioner Training and Legal, directed
that there be no female quota in recruitment
(Lewis 1994). Table 1 shows that, in 1988–89,
when the 20% female recruit target was being
phased in, women made up 26.3% of applicants
and 17.4% of recruits. In 1989–90, women
made up 28.3% of applicants and 23.1% of
recruits. By 1991–92, as female applications
levelled out, the proportion of female recruits
had leapt to 35.4%, a 103% increase on the
1988–89 data.
In 1989, soon after the release of the Fitzger-
ald Report, the ruling National Party was re-
placed by the Labor Party, which had suc-
cessfully campaigned on a reform platform. In
the same year, Commissioner Noel Newnham
was recruited from outside Queensland with a
mission to implement the Fitzgerald agenda.
Fitzgerald’s recommendations on human re-
source management were reflected in the new

C 2013 National Council of the Institute of Public Administration Australia
December 2013
Police Service Administration Act 1990, which
emphasised appointment by merit. Height and
weight restrictions were removed from recruit-
ment criteria, and education was given greater
bearing on recruitment decisions. In respect to
promotion, in 1990 five women were promoted
to Inspector and in 1992 one woman was pro-
moted to Superintendent. As a result of changes
to recruitment, by 1993 Queensland was ap-
proaching the national average of 12.4% of
women police, with women making up 11.4%
of sworn personal (QPS 1993a). However, the
figure of more than one third female recruits
was well above the national average of 22%
(Prenzler 1994: 87).
Interviews with women police from that pe-
riod suggest that Commissioner Newnham was
supportive of women, as was Assistant Com-
missioner (Personnel) Frank O’Gorman (Pren-
zler 1995). However, the influx of women
elicited a hostile reaction from some male of-
ficers and the Queensland Police Union of
Employees. This time, however, the ostensi-
ble concerns were less about male police be-
ing sexually compromised, as was the case in
the 1970s, and more about the supposed safety
risk entailed in the emergence of a new type
of officer: the short female. A female police
interviewee observed that:
Much of the reaction had to do with the fact that
it wasn’t just ‘women’ that were coming into the
job but small women – because at the same time
that we had an increase in women the height and
weight limit restrictions had been lifted. So in
the previous year where you had to be 5’4” if
you were a woman to get into the job, there was
no longer any sort of restriction . . . It was those
particular women that the senior officers and op-
erational officers objected to. They related it to
working with a child, somebody who couldn’t
hold up their end of the deal in a brawl. (in
Prenzler 1995: 56)
One independent survey from the early-1990s
identified a very mixed situation in terms of
police attitudes and the experiences of women
police. Hotchkiss (1992) found that 63% of
male respondents wanted less than 50% po-
licewomen, including 21% who wanted 20%
or fewer females and 13% who wanted 10%
or less. Eighty percent of female respondents
 Prenzler and Drew
Table 1. Female Applicants and Recruits, Queensland Police, 1988–89 to 1991–92
Year 1988–89
Percent female applicants 26.3
Percent female recruits 17.4
Source: Queensland Police Service. Statistical Co-ordination Unit, 1993.
disagreed that men were better suited to polic-
ing, but 66% thought the service should have
30% or less women. Thirty-four percent of fe-
male respondents claimed to have experienced
sexual harassment, compared to 16% of males,
but only 6% of women thought they were re-
stricted to particular areas. The study also found
that younger males were more accepting of fe-
male police, and that both male and female po-
lice felt that working conditions for women had
greatly improved in recent years. In another sur-
vey from the period, female recruits reported a
preoccupation with physical ability in academy
training and cited physical performance pres-
sures as a major source of stress (Wimshurst
1995).
The impact of equal employment opportunity
legislation
The Fitzgerald reforms relating to equality for
women police were soon overtaken by State-
based legislation: the Anti-discrimination Act
1991 and the Equal Opportunity in Public Em-
ployment (EOPE) Act 1992. The EOPE Act re-
quired collection of gender-based statistics and
active measures to encourage equality. In re-
sponse, the Police Service created an Equal
Employment Opportunity (EEO) Unit, EEO
Joint Management/Union Consultative Com-
mittee, and appointed an EEO Co-ordinator
(QPS 1993a). EEO principles were promoted in
Service journals and information sessions, and
through the distribution of EEO information
kits. A network of trained Sexual Harassment
Referral Officers was established and sexual
harassment awareness sessions were delivered
State-wide. Equity and sexual harassment top-
ics were included in the in-service Competency
Acquisition Program, and EEO was included
in the Executive Development Program. The

C 2013 National Council of the Institute of Public Administration Australia
463
1989–90 1990–91 1991–92
28.3 28.1 28.7
23.1 29.4 35.4
EEO Unit worked to remove discriminatory
language from Service documents, and it initi-
ated a successful trial of part-time employment
(Carew 1996). In 1993, eight out of ten po-
lice who took up this option were women (QPS
1993a: 85).
The focus of the evaluation component of
the first QPS equity report was awareness of
EEO (QPS 1993a). An in-house survey indi-
cated that 35% of female police and 31% of
male police had received some training in the
area; and 44% of respondents were aware of the
existence of EEO Contact Officers, although
only 17% of work units had received sexual ha-
rassment awareness sessions. Forty-eight per-
cent of female police and 21% of male police
thought that sexual harassment existed in their
workplace. The report also indicated that the
promotion of women had accelerated slightly.
For example, from 1992 to 1993 the percent-
age of female senior sergeants increased from
2.45% to 3.8%.
The report represented a major step forward
in planning and reporting on equity. At the
same time, a commonly expressed view made
in the survey by female police was that man-
agers needed to make a more explicit commit-
ment to equality, including through a better
gender balance on selection panels and more
career planning support. However, despite an
array of statistics, the report lacked informa-
tion in basic areas of gender equity, includ-
ing male/female application and selection rates,
academy progression, promotion and deploy-
ment rates across all ranks and organisational
units, and female Indigenous status. Separation
rates and reasons for separations were not ad-
dressed.
There were a number of other notable devel-
opments in the mid-1990s. Paid maternity leave
was set at six weeks, a free child care referral
service was made available to all members, and
464 Women Police in Post-Fitzgerald Queensland
a pilot mentoring program for women was in-
troduced (QPS Annual Report 1997: 28). The
QPS established a Women’s Advisory Group
during the 1995–96 reporting period (QPS An-
nual Report 1996: 24). A Career Planning Unit
was instituted, with the creation of Career Plan-
ning Officers and implementation of state-wide
mentoring program for women (QPS Annual
Report 1999: 47). By 2002, the QPS reported
that there were 195 trained career planning of-
ficers and the formal mentoring program coor-
dinated by the Career Planning Unit involved
over 350 mentors (QPS Annual Report 2002:
63). In the 1996–97 reporting period, a fe-
male commissioned officer was appointed to
the Senior Executive Conference (QPS Annual
Report 1997: 28). The QPS also sought to
ensure representation of female officers on
internal committees and that the (renamed)
Equity and Diversity Unit was involved in
external forums, such as the Commission-
ers’ Australasian Women in Policing Advisory
Committee, the Australia and New Zealand
EEO Consultative Committee and the Aus-
tralasian Council of Women and Policing (QPS
Annual Report 2002: 63). In 1995, the QPS
convened the inaugural Australasian Equal Em-
ployment Opportunity in Policing Conference
(QPS Annual Report 1995: 25).
Introduction of the Physical Competency Test
Despite these advances in the 1990s, the
achievements were overshadowed by the intro-
duction of a Physical Competency Test (PCT)
in recruitment. In 1993, the Union President,
John O’Gorman, called for the re-introduction
of height and weight restrictions following
attacks on officers. In a newspaper article,
O’Gorman claimed that some officers were
concerned for their safety when working with
‘smaller officers, especially women’, who were
allegedly seen as an ‘easy target for aggres-
sive louts’ (Gee 1993: 5). In response, Com-
missioner O’Sullivan gave strong support to
women police, stating that the Service would
remain an equal opportunity employer. He also
stated: ‘We have some very small policewomen
but, let me tell you, they have plenty of fight in
them’ (Gillespie, 24 January 1993: 62). How-

C 2013 National Council of the Institute of Public Administration Australia
December 2013
ever, despite the Commissioner’s comments,
the Officer-in-Charge of physical skills train-
ing at the Academy devised a PCT, based on
military-style obstacle course tests. In 1994,
with the support of Acting Assistant Com-
missioner Personnel and Training Greg Early,
the test was introduced into the recruitment
process. At this time, courts overseas had
already found that the tests lacked validity
(Lonsway 2003). In Queensland, the test was
defended as simulating a backyard chase that
could be faced by any operational police officer
(QPS 1993b).
Table 2 shows the impact of the test after
its introduction in 1994. There was a drop of
approximately 5% in the proportion of female
recruits, from an average of 32.3% across the
five intakes from 1991 to 1993 to an average of
27.4% in the three intakes in 1994. An analysis
of the test results for the January and May in-
takes showed that, of 456 male applicants and
187 female applicants, women withdrew on the
day of the test at a higher rate than men: 25.1%
compared to 18.4% (Prenzler 1996: 317). Of
the 372 male applicants and 140 female appli-
cants who undertook the test, a much higher
proportion of women failed than men: 37.8%
(53) of women compared to 2.4% (9) of men.
The Unravelling of the Physical Competency
Test
The initial deployment of the PCT significantly
reduced the recruitment of women. However,
the effect was mitigated through the interven-
tion of David Gill, who gained the position
of Director of Human Resources in February
1994. A Queensland Public Sector Manage-
ment Commission (1993c) review had recom-
mended that a civilian Director of Human Re-
source Management be appointed to replace the
Assistant Commissioner Personnel. Gill came
to Queensland from New South Wales, where
he had been responsible for introducing tar-
geted recruitment of women police that saw fe-
male recruit numbers gradually increase from
17% in 1989 to 33% in 1993, above the appli-
cation rate of 29% (Prenzler 1995). New South
Wales also had a pre-entry physical ability test
which excluded a substantial number of female
 Prenzler and Drew
Table 2. Percentages of Female Applicants and Female Recruits per Intake, Queensland Police Service,
February 1991 to October 1994
Intake* Feb. 91 July 91
Percent Female applicants 29.1 27.0
Percent Female Recruits 29.3 36.4
Total male and female intake = 1,320. Source: Recruitment Branch QPS, 1994.
applicants. The increase in female recruitment
was made possible by the introduction of pref-
erential selection of women from the pool of
recommended applicants. In an interview, Gill
stated that he viewed EEO as a priority area, and
he was able to obtain approval for a version of
the New South Wales system to be applied in
Queensland (Prenzler 1995: 61–62). In addi-
tion, the four minute cut off for completion of
the test was abandoned and timings were con-
sidered in a more discretionary manner. These
measures had a moderating effect, with the fe-
male numbers in intakes across 1994, increas-
ing from 26.7% of recruits in January to 28%
in May and 27.5% in October (Table 2).
These counteracting processes continued for
some years, including when the PCT came un-
der scrutiny from the Bingham Review of po-
lice strategies conducted in 1996, which saw
a number of submissions made to the Review
criticising the test (Bingham 1996). In relation
to the test, the Bingham Review Committee
observed that:
The Committee has found it difficult to deter-
mine exactly how much weight the physical com-
petency test has in the final selection decisions.
The selection committee (the body which makes
the final decisions about whom to appoint) con-
siders the time taken, advice from physical skills
staff about the attitude of the applicant, and the
feedback provided by the applicant, along with
the applicant’s performance on other selection
tests, interviews and education/work experience
(Bingham 1996: 97).
The Committee concluded there were strong
reasons for questioning the validity of the test,
and referred the wider issue of recruitment
criteria to a sub-committee of the Police Ed-
ucation Advisory Council (PEAC) (Bingham
1996: 97). The subsequent report made by the
Council on police selection concluded that the

C 2013 National Council of the Institute of Public Administration Australia
465
Feb. 92 July 92 Feb. 93 Jan. 94 May 94 Oct. 94
28.5 28.0 28.2 25.4 30.4 29.5
34.2 30.0 31.7 26.7 28.0 27.5
test had no job-related validity, and was also
hypocritical given there were no requirements
for police to maintain fitness once joining the
organisation (PEAC 1998: chapter 10). The test
was abandoned in 1999 and replaced with a
medical screening test. This move was made de-
spite an extraordinary rearguard effort to save
the test through a $100,000 consultancy to a
university exercise science department (QPS
Annual Report 1998: 46). The findings of the
consultancy in fact did not support the test
(Centre for Physical Activity and Sport Edu-
cation 1998).
Equity policy and practice in the 2000s
The second decade after the Fitzgerald Inquiry
saw much greater stability and much less con-
troversy in the area of gender equity in policing.
Figure 1 shows that from 1998–99 the propor-
tion of female recruits in the Police Recruit Op-
erational Vocational Education (PROVE) pro-
gram peaked around 40%, but the average over
the decade remained fairly stable at 35.6% –
about the same as the early-1990s prior to the
introduction of the PCT. It is interesting to note
that the female academy graduation rate over
the 2000s was lower, at 33.0% on average (QPS
Statistical Reviews 1998–99 to 2008–09).
Official reports show an ongoing commit-
ment to many of the strategies originally re-
ported in the first EEO management plan. In
some cases these were expanded or developed
into new initiatives. For example, the Sexual
Harassment Referral Officer Network (subse-
quently renamed the Harassment Referral Of-
ficer Network (QPS Annual Report 2004: 69)),
touted its plans during the 1998–99 report-
ing period to broaden its scope to include
various negative workplace behaviours and
discrimination (QPS Annual Report 1999: 47).
466 Women Police in Post-Fitzgerald Queensland December 2013

Figure 1. Percentage of Female and Male Recruits per Intake, Queensland Police Service, 1998–99
through to 2008–09

Source: QPS Statistical Reviews, 1998–99 to 2008–09.

In 2010, the QPS reported that 69.2% of
all QPS staff had completed negative work-
place behaviour training (QPS Annual Report
2010: 95). In 2010, the QPS reported that it
had launched a ‘part-time noticeboard’, which
served the dual purpose of assisting officers in
identifying part-time vacancies and also, pro-
vided relevant resources for supervisors of part-
time officers (QPS Annual Report 2010: 95).
By 2009–10, 398 of 436 part-time officers were
female (2010: 95).
The Women’s Network (formerly the
Women’s Advisory Group) developed and im-
plemented an Anti-Discrimination ‘buddy’ ini-
tiative (first noted in the 2003–04 reporting
period) (QPS Annual Report 2004: 69). The
initiative involved senior women travelling to
more remote locations to provide support and
training to female members (QPS 2007: 76).
The Equity and Diversity Unit continued to
provide training in equity and diversity prin-
ciples across the Service. It continued to coor-
dinate the Women’s Network, facilitated con-
ciliation training, and maintained a Conciliator
Network for the informal resolution of sexual
harassment and workplace discrimination is-
sues (QPS 2004b). In support of the maternity
leave policy (originally incorporated into the
Service’s Human Resource Manual during the
1996–97 reporting period (QPS Annual Report
1997: 28)) the Service launched a Women’s
Network Pregnancy Package, which included
information for staff, supervisors, co-workers
and spouses in respect to legislation, policies
and processes relevant to pregnant workers
(QPS Annual Report 2008: 63). The Service
also formulated a Work-Family Policy, includ-
ing the establishment of a Child and Family
Issues Committee (QPS Annual Report 2004:
71). The Committee assisted female officers to
return to work in a way that allowed ‘full par-
ticipation in operational policing’ (QPS Annual
Report 2006: 74).
An examination of the gender profile of
sworn officers in the QPS reveals very small
increases in female officer representation in the
second post-Fitzgerald decade (see Figure 2).
The percentage of female officers increased
from 17.4% in 1998–99 to 25.7% in 2008–09,
representing a flow through of recruit numbers.
Some progress also occurred across the ranks,
as shown in Table 3. The main growth was
at the non-commissioned level, where the pro-
portion of women increased by seven points
from 9.3% in 1998–99 (123 women) to 16.3%
in 2008–09 (449 women) (QPS Statistical Re-
view 1999, 2009). The QPS Diversity Man-
agement Plan 2004–2007 set a target of 13.5%


C 2013 National Council of the Institute of Public Administration Australia
 Prenzler and Drew
Figure 2. Percentage of Female and Male Officers, Queensland Police Service, 1998–1999 to 2008–2009
Source: QPS Statistical Reviews, 1998–99 to 2008–09.
of non-commissioned positions to be held by
women by 2007 (QPS 2004b). The percentage
of female officers as a percentage of all non-
commissioned officer positions was 13.8% as
at 30 June 2008 (QPS Statistical Review 2008).
Table 3 also shows that the proportion of
women progressing from non-commissioned
to commissioned ranks only changed fraction-
ally over the ten years. There was an increase
from 5.1% in 1998–99 (17 officers) to 7.1% in
2005–06; but there was a fall to 5.9% in 2008–
09 (22 officers) (QPS Statistical Review 1999,
2006, 2009), despite a target of 6.7% of com-
missioned positions to be held by women by
2007 (QPS 2004b).
Although the QPS does not report
male/female figures for Indigenous officers, re-
cent independent research by Fleming (2009)
identified 64 female Indigenous sworn officers
and 23 female Indigenous Liaison Officers.
Fleming (2009) found the Service was making
concerted efforts to employ Indigenous offi-
cers, both male and female, and the majority
of women surveyed felt accepted by their com-
munities and colleagues. Some problems were
identified with the utilisation of career oppor-
tunities for liaison officers, while a substantial
minority also recounted some experiences of
harassment and racist comments intraining.

C 2013 National Council of the Institute of Public Administration Australia
467
Critique
The preceding section provided an historical
account of the status of women police in post-
Fitzgerald Queensland, including changes in
gender equity policies and strategies. The ac-
count provides a foundation on which to under-
stand the significant events that placed equity
on the agenda of the QPS. The Fitzgerald In-
quiry was a major catalyst for the reform of
recruitment and promotion of women police.
These reforms were then reinforced and sys-
tematised by the introduction and implemen-
tation in 1992 and 1993 of State-based anti-
discrimination and equal opportunity in public
employment legislation.
There were a number of markers of progress
in gender equity in policing in the 1990s. There
was rapid growth in female recruitment, to just
over one third representation, along with a num-
ber of landmark promotions to inspector level.
Increases in recruit numbers flowed through to
an upward trend in the overall proportion of
sworn female officers. The decade also saw the
introduction of a wide range of supportive eq-
uity strategies. At the same time, the period
was marked by the contradiction of the Physi-
cal Competency Test, with its regressive effects
on female recruitment. The process of rapid
468 Women Police in Post-Fitzgerald Queensland December 2013

Table 3. Percentage of Female and Male Officers by Rank, Queensland Police Service, 1998–1999 to
2008–2009

Non-Commissioned Commissioned
Year Constables Officers Officers
F M F M F M
1998–1999 22.07 77.93 5.82 94.18 5.15 94.85
1999–2000 23.50 76.50 6.51 93.49 5.04 94.96
2000–2001 25.08 74.92 7.61 92.39 5.34 94.66
2001–2002 31.81 68.19 8.29 91.71 5.76 94.24
2002–2003 26.84 73.16 9.16 90.84 6.00 94.00
2003–2004 27.47 72.53 9.73 90.27 6.78 93.22
2004–2005 28.50 71.50 10.81 89.19 6.54 93.46
2005–2006 29.51 70.49 11.73 88.27 7.11 92.89
2006–2007 30.34 69.66 12.88 87.12 6.30 93.70
2007–2008 30.99 69.01 13.77 86.23 5.96 94.04
2008–2009 31.29 68.71 14.84 85.16 5.90 94.10
Source: QPS Statistical Reviews, 1998–99 to 2008–09.

growth in female numbers, Union alarm and a
backlash against women, echoed the events of
the 1970s under Commissioners Whitrod and
Lewis. However, in the 1990s the Fitzgerald
reform agenda and equity legislation negated
the direct discretionary authority exercised by
Lewis against women police. The PCT repre-
sented a more acceptable intervention, with its
appearance of scientific objectivity. However,
the proper science on recruit testing was never
done by the QPS, and it took five years, includ-
ing three external reviews, before the test was
completely abandoned.
The controversies surrounding the PCT
demonstrated how the Service lacked the sci-
entific approach to recruitment envisaged by
Fitzgerald, and it also demonstrated the need for
external agencies and reviews to ensure compli-
ance with evidence-based policy. The introduc-
tion of the test was perhaps also emblematic of a
wider failure to introduce a more scientific ap-
proach to policing and crime prevention, and to
adopt a full model of community policing. The
critiques of this problem in Queensland (e.g.,
Bingham 1996; Criminal Justice Commission
1997; see Fleming 2009), are echoed in many
Australian and overseas jurisdictions and relate
in part to the dominance of the reactive macho
crime-fighting model of policing that persists
along with the numerical dominance of polic-
ing by men (Martin and Jurik 2007).
It is also noteworthy that during this period
there was a failure of new regulatory agencies
to address sex discrimination in policing. The
level of oversight by the Public Service Com-
missioner of QPS equity management plans
and reports was questionable, while it appears
that the Employment Equity Branch of the Pub-
lic Sector Management Commission approved
the PCT without making any attempt at val-
idation (Public Sector Management Commis-
sion 1993c; QPS 1993b, Annexure 10). It ap-
pears that, following the loss of the impetus of
the Fitzgerald Inquiry, the police were part of
a convergence around limited equity policies
across the Queensland public sector. The most
recent major review of the QPS by the Service
Delivery and Performance Commission (2008)
simply ignored gender altogether. The Crimi-
nal Justice Commission engaged in research on
complaints and ethical attitudes that included
some gender comparisons (see Waugh, Ede and
Alley 1998). Its staff also had a key role in
the Bingham and PEAC reviews. However, the
approach was largely reactive. The Commis-
sion (and its later incarnation the Crime and
Misconduct Commission) did not address sex-
ual harassment in policing, and was not proac-
tive in addressing sex discrimination outside
the PCT issue, despite its brief to combat mis-
conduct (Crime and Misconduct Act 2001). It
also failed to grasp the potential benefits to


C 2013 National Council of the Institute of Public Administration Australia
 Prenzler and Drew
police service delivery and police integrity
from recruiting more women. For example,
Commission research showed that male police
attracted two-and-a-half times as many assault-
related complaints as female officers (Waugh,
et al. 1998: 297). This lack of oversight and ac-
countability may also be extended to politics.
There appears to have been little interest by any
government or police minister in Queensland
regarding gender equity in policing beyond
support for mandatory anti-discrimination
provisions (cf., Roberts 1993).
The PCT also exposed inconsistencies in the
Service’s human resource management strat-
egy. The QPS stated that the test would be in-
troduced alongside an ‘on-going program of
physical fitness and assessment for police of-
ficers to maintain the occupational require-
ment’ (QPS 1993b: 27). The caveat was ignored
despite evidence that recruit fitness rapidly
erodes on the job and many police labour un-
der lifestyle-related chronic health problems
(Parsons 2004). In the same year that the test
was introduced, the QPS lost a case brought
before the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal by a
male applicant rejected because of myopia. The
Tribunal rejected the Service’s claim that the
physical requirements of policing precluded
wearing contact lenses, and it noted that many
serving officers had eyesight below the level of
the plaintiff (Flannery v. O’Sullivan 1993).
The second decade after Fitzgerald was char-
acterised by much less change and contro-
versy, with a much more stable and consis-
tent approach to gender equity. At the same
time, analysis of the status of women police
in the 2000s shows an organisation that had
largely stagnated. The overall proportion of
women police increased at a glacial pace, while
Academy graduations plateaued at one-third.
On the present rate, which represents an in-
crease of just under 1% per year, the percent-
age of sworn officers will converge with the
percentage of Academy graduates around the
end of the present decade and then flatline at
one-third. It is possible that the female attrition
rates will, however, reduce this figure.
Furthermore, while some progress was ev-
ident in the 2000s in increased female repre-
sentation at the non-commissioned ranks, the

C 2013 National Council of the Institute of Public Administration Australia
469
figures have moved backwards at the highest
commissioned officer and management levels.
This has occurred at the same time that there
has been clear evidence of a wide variety of
supportive strategies related to promotion and
retention, maintained from the 1990s and en-
larged in the 2000s. This paradox is not, of
course, unique to the Queensland Police or
policing more widely. The situation is consis-
tent with that in other police departments in
Australia; although, as noted in the background
section, some Australian jurisdictions are now
more successful than Queensland in recruiting
women (Prenzler, et al. 2010). White (2003)
and others (e.g. French 2001; Kalev, Kelly and
Dobbin 2006) have made similar observations
in other settings. Despite firm commitments
to equity programs over extended periods, the
achievement of gender parity, particularly in
higher levels of management, eludes many or-
ganisations, both public and private sector.
There are a number of possible explanations
for this (Boni 2005; French 2001; Prenzler,
et al. 2010). One is that many women choose
to devote themselves to family responsibilities
and disengage from their careers around the
same time they become eligible for promotion
to management positions. It has also been ob-
served that the current generation of women
workers have limited interest in one career or
one employer for life (Wynn et al. 2008). This
means that major gains in recruitment are par-
tially undermined by early separations – either
for alternative careers or full-time home duties.
Furthermore, many organisations, like police,
with a legacy of intense discrimination against
women have made extraordinary changes in
light of past practices. It is possible that this
relative progress may then generate a compla-
cent attitude towards the issue of full numerical
equality.
Taking a holistic view, what seems to be
lacking is an advanced approach to gender eq-
uity that makes use of diagnostic research to
identify problems and addresses them through
a more experimental and evaluative approach
(Lynch 2005). For example, the QPS has not
been particularly innovative in recruitment and
rejoining policies. It also does not report on
gender dimensions of recruitment and training,
470 Women Police in Post-Fitzgerald Queensland
deployment and promotion, sexual harassment
and discrimination, and separation/retention is-
sues. Indeed in that regard a backward step
was taken when the EOPE Act was repealed
in 2008 and the reporting requirement watered
down even further in the Public Service Act
2008. This can be compared with the UK,
where there is an emerging picture of signifi-
cant improvements in gender equity in policing
as a result of the introduction of the ‘Gender
Equality Duty’ in 2007 (reinforced through the
Equality Act 2010), focused on requirements
for government departments to develop ‘Equal-
ity Schemes’ and submit impact assessments
(Home Office 2010).
The QPS has implemented numerous, broad-
ranging, ‘off-the-shelf’ equity strategies, but
much less attention has been given to ‘what
works’ in practice (cf., French 2001; French
and Strachan 2007; Naff and Kellough 2003).
There is also a noticeable lack of consideration
of the potential benefits to the organisation in
employing more women. In policing, as already
discussed, this includes better services for vic-
tims of crime, better relations with the commu-
nity, less complaints, reduced reliance on use of
force, and less litigation (Boni 2005; National
Center for Women and Policing 2003). In re-
ality, the legacy issues from male dominance
and the complexity of demands on women re-
quire much better analysis of reasons for the
absence of numerical equity. A key question,
therefore, concerns the extent to which a career
for a woman in policing is stymied by external
pressures to serve as a homemakers and pri-
mary caregiver for children. The legacy issues
and conflicting demands on female officers are
likely to justify more active affirmative action
policies including targeted recruitment, promo-
tion and retention strategies.
Conclusions
A major corruption inquiry and reform process
in the late-1980s and early-1990s produced a
new climate for women police in Queensland.
The QPS then became subject to State EEO leg-
islation, but progress was stymied to some ex-
tent by a renewed emphasis on physical criteria

C 2013 National Council of the Institute of Public Administration Australia
December 2013
of height and strength. The discriminatory PCT
was eventually shut down after three external
assessments. In the 2000s, gender policies be-
came less volatile and Queensland moved into
a ‘steady state’ position, largely consistent with
other Australian jurisdictions and well beyond
the old ‘Queensland is different’ thesis. The
QPS was ticking boxes in terms of legislative
compliance on gender equity, and also going
beyond compliance to some extent in imple-
menting supportive strategies for women. How-
ever, these policies and practices now appear to
be falling short in terms of desirable levels of
equity across the whole organisation, and it is
not clear that all reasonable options have been
tried. This is despite an ostensible commitment
to a Diversity Management Plan designed to al-
low the QPS to ‘move towards being truly rep-
resentative of the community from which we
are drawn and whom we serve and represent’
(QPS 2004b: 2). Therefore, what is needed is a
rigorous examination of ‘what works’ in mov-
ing equity forward in a policing environment,
using a diverse range of research tools to iden-
tify the causes of problems and experimenting
with interventions. This approach is consistent
with the original Fitzgerald vision for policing
in Queensland and the spirit of post-Fitzgerald
equity legislation. It would also align the QPS
with the wider movement for more rigorous
and comprehensive performance frameworks
in public sector management.
References
Bingham, M. 1996. Report on the Review of the
Queensland Police Service. Brisbane: Queens-
land Minister for Police and Corrective Services.
Boni, N. 2005. ‘Barriers and facilitating factors for
women in policing: Considerations for marking
policing an employer of choice.’ The Journal of
Women and Policing, 17: 13–18.
Brown, J., Hegarty, P., and O’Neill, D. 2006. Playing
with numbers: A Discussion Paper on Positive
Discrimination as means for achieving Gender
Equality in the Police Service in England and
Wales. London: British Association for Women
in Policing.
Carew, T. 1996. Part-time hours for mem-
bers of the Queensland Police Service. First
 Prenzler and Drew
Australasian Women Police Conference, Sydney,
1 July.
Centre for Physical Activity and Sport Education
1998. Review of the Physical Training Prac-
tices adopted by the Queensland Police Service.
Brisbane: University of Queensland.
Charlton, R. 1987. State of Mind: Why Queensland
is Different. Sydney: Methuen Hayes.
Cordner, G., and Cordner, A. 2011. ‘Stuck on a
plateau? Obstacles to the recruitment, selection,
and retention of women police.’ Police Quarterly,
14(3): 207–226.
Corsianos, M. 2011. ‘Responding to officers’ gen-
dered experiences through community policing
and improving accountability to citizens.’ Con-
temporary Justice Review, 14(1): 7–20.
Courier Mail. 1994. (December 13). Anti-corruption
unit shuts door, 7.
Criminal Justice Commission 1997. Integrity in
the Queensland Police Service: Implementation
and Impact of the Fitzgerald Inquiry Reforms.
Brisbane.
Drew, J. and Prenzler, T. 2010. ‘The Evolution of
human resource management in policing.’ In C.
Lewis, J. Ransley and R. Homel Eds., The Fitzger-
ald Legacy: Reforming Public Life in Australia
and Beyond, pp. 134–153. Brisbane: Australian
Academic Press.
Fallon, P.T. 2002. So Hard the conquering: The Life
of Irene Longman. Brisbane, Griffith University,
MPhil thesis.
Fitzgerald, G. 1989. Report of a Commission of In-
quiry Pursuant to Orders in Council. Brisbane:
Government Printer.
Flannery v. O’Sullivan (No .1) Queensland Anti-
Discrimination Tribunal, 1993, 1–15.
Fleming, S. 2009. Factors Impeding the Recruitment
and Retention of Indigenous Women Police Offi-
cers. BACrim Honours Thesis. Brisbane: Griffith
University.
French, E. 2001. ‘Approaches to equity management
and their relationship to women in management.’
British Journal of Management, 12(4): 267–
285.
French, E., and Strachan, G. 2007. ‘Equal opportu-
nity outcomes for women in the finance industry
in Australia: Evaluating the merit of EEO plans.’
Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 45(3):
314–332.
Gee, L. 1993, (January 19) Small officers risk lives:
police union. Courier Mail, p. 5
Home Office, 2010. Assessment of Women in the
Police Service. London.

C 2013 National Council of the Institute of Public Administration Australia
471
Hotchkiss, S. 1992. Policing Promotional Differ-
ence: Policewomen in the Queensland Police, MA
dissertation, Griffith University, 1992.
Kalev, A., Kelly, E., and Dobbin, F. 2006. ‘Best
practices or best guesses? Assessing the efficacy
of corporate affirmative action and diversity poli-
cies.’ American Sociological Review, 71(4): 589–
617.
Lewis, C., Ransley, J., and Homel, R., Eds. (2010).
The Fitzgerald Legacy: Reforming Public Life in
Australia and Beyond. Brisbane: Australian Aca-
demic Press.
Lewis, R. 1994. Recruitment of Target Group
Members to the Queensland Police. Brisbane:
Queensland Police Service.
Lonsway, K.A. 2003. Tearing down the wall: Prob-
lems with consistency, validity, and adverse im-
pact of physical agility testing on police selection.
Police Quarterly, 6(3): 237–277.
Lunneborg, P. 1989. Women Police Officers: Current
Career Profile. Springfield: Charles C Thomas.
Lynch, J. 2005. Looking to the future: Implications
of emerging trends for police workforce planning.
Adelaide: Australasian Centre for Policing Re-
search.
Martin, S. and Jurik, N. 2007. Doing justice, do-
ing gender: Women in legal and criminal justice
occupations. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
Naff, K.C. and Kellough, J.E. 2003. ‘Ensuring
employment equity: Are federal diversity pro-
grams making a difference?’ International Jour-
nal of Public Administration, 26(12): 1307–
1336.
Natarajin, M. 2008. Women police in a changing so-
ciety: Back door to equality. Aldershot: Ashgate.
National Center for Women and Policing. 2002.
Equality denied; the status of women in policing.
Beverly Hills.
National Center for Women and Policing. 2003. Hir-
ing and retaining more women: The Advantages
to law enforcement agencies. Beverly Hills.
Owings, C. 1969. Women Police: A Study of the De-
velopment and Status of the Women Police Move-
ment. Montclair: Patterson Smith.
Parsons, J.R.L. 2004. Occupational health and safety
issues of police officers in Canada, the United
States and Europe. Retrieved 29 July 2011 from
http://www.safetynet.mun.ca/pdfs/Occupational
%20H&S.pdf.
Past and Present Policewomen’s Association of
Queensland. 1989. Submission to Commission of
Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Asso-
ciated Police Misconduct. Brisbane.
472 Women Police in Post-Fitzgerald Queensland
Police Education Advisory Council. 1998. Police for
the Future: Review of Recruitment and Selection
for the Queensland Police Service. Brisbane: Po-
lice Education Advisory Council.
Prenzler T., Fleming J., and King, A. 2010. ‘Gender
equity in Australian and New Zealand policing: A
Five year review.’ International Journal of Police
Science and Management, 12(4): 584–595.
Prenzler, T. 1996. Rebuilding the Walls? The Im-
pact of Police Pre-Entry Physical Ability Tests on
Female Applicants. Current Issues in Criminal
Justice, 7(3): 314–324.
Prenzler, T. 1994. Women in Australian policing; an
overview. Journal of Australian Studies, 14(42):
78–88.
Prenzler, T. 1995. Women in the Queensland Police,
1931–1994. MA Thesis. Brisbane: University of
Queensland.
Prenzler, T. 1998. ‘Concession and Containment:
The Establishment of Women in the Queensland
Police, 1931–1965.’ Australian and New Zealand
Journal of Criminology, 31(2): 119–140.
Queensland Police Service. 1989 to 1992. Statistical
review, 1988–89 to 1991–92. Brisbane: Author.
Queensland Police Service. 1993a. Equal Employ-
ment Opportunity Plan 1993/94 and Evaluation
Report 1992/3. Brisbane.
Queensland Police Service. 1993b. Review of Phys-
ical Testing for Police Recruits. Brisbane.
Public Sector Management Commission. 1993c. Re-
view of the Queensland Police Service. Brisbane.
Queensland Police Service. 1996. EEO Management
Plan 1996–2000. Brisbane.
Queensland Police Service. 1996 to 1999. Annual
report, 1995–96 to 1998–99. Brisbane: Author.
Queensland Police Service. 1999 to 2009. Statistical
review, 1998–1999 to 2008–09. Brisbane: Author.
Queensland Police Service. 2002. Annual report,
2001–02. Brisbane: Author.

C 2013 National Council of the Institute of Public Administration Australia
December 2013
Queensland Police Service. 2004. Annual report,
2003–04. Brisbane: Author.
Queensland Police Service. 2004b. Diversity Man-
agement Plan 2004–2007. Brisbane.
Queensland Police Service. 2006 to 2008. An-
nual report, 2005–06 to 2007–08. Brisbane:
Author.
Queensland Police Service. 2010. Annual report,
2009–10. Brisbane: Author.
Roberts, G. 1993. (December 14). More than an hour
behind. The Bulletin, 36–38.
Service Delivery and Performance Commission.
2008. Report on the Service Delivery and Per-
formance Management Review of the Queensland
Police Service. Brisbane.
Gillespie, P. 1993. (24 January). Crime and punish-
ment. Sunday Mail, 62.
Van Ewijk, A.R. 2011. ‘Diversity within Police
Forces in Europe: A Case for the Comprehensive
View.’ Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice.
Advance Access, doi:10.1093/police/par048.
Waugh, L., Ede, A., and Alley, A. 1998. ‘Police cul-
ture, women police and attitudes towards miscon-
duct.’ International Journal of Police Science and
Management, 1(3): 288–300.
White, K. 2003. ‘Women and leadership in higher
education in Australia.’ Tertiary Education and
Management, 9(1): 45–60.
Wimshurst, K. 1995. ‘Anticipating the future: A
Comparison of the Early Experiences and Ca-
reer. Expectations of Male and Female Police
Recruits in Queensland.’ Australian and New
Zealand Journal of Criminology, 28(3): 278–
297.
Wynn, J., Smith, G., Stokes, H., Tyler, D., and Wood-
man, D. 2008. Generations and social change:
Negotiating adulthood in the 21st century.
Melbourne: Australian Youth Research Centre,
The University of Melbourne.