Leicestershire Constabulary

What 

This case study examines how Leicestershire Constabulary is responding to the Gender Agenda 2. In 2007 the Home Office re-launched its programme to encourage police forces to address issues for women. The Gender Agenda 2 made explicit five ,long  term aims for police forces. These Included  looking at the recruitment, progression and retention of women in the police, addressing issues of organisational culture and enhancing policies, practices and  procedures. Leicestershire Constabulary responded by bringing together over 100 of its women for a day to identify their issues and discuss personal experiences. It also established a gender steering group chaired by its Assistant Chief Constable and attended by key senior men and women from across the organisation. This steering group drives new initiatives and ensures that work is impactful and mainstreamed. The group has ensured that the organisation now has a much more sophisticated understanding of the issues. Quarterly reports are produced which examine female representation in detail. These explore recruitment, progression, leavers, representation by rank and grade, take up of flexible working, access to domestic leave, access to training, grievances, complaints and misconduct all from a gender perspective. This data informs activity and is used as a springboard to develop new interventions. A key example is the introduction of development days for women.