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“Anything boys can do, girls can do better,” said an old t-shirt thrifted from the Salvation Army. A saying that we’ve all heard, but many do not truly believe. For Lieutenant Tina Kalar, this saying has been held in the highest rank since she was a small child. Growing up in a neighborhood full of boys gave her lots of practice for her future career as a police officer, a world dominated by men. She wore the t-shirt until it did not fit anymore, but never grew out of its meaning.

For women, working in a male-dominated field can mean harassment and discrimination. It can also mean facing a glass ceiling as far as moving up in rank. Like any job, many women have been able to push past these barriers and pave the way for future women aspiring for a career in policing. But being a police officer is not like any other job.

Women possess certain skill sets that are invaluable to any police department. In a world with decreased police legitimacy, female officers are often trusted by their communities, potentially improving their view of police departments. Female officers have great communication skills, statistically use less force and may be more empathetic than their male counterparts.

Lieutenant Kalar has been with the Des Moines Police Department (DMPD) for 23 years. She currently works at the Des Moines Police Academy, training the future men and women who plan to enter the police force.

Her experience as a woman in this line of work has not always been easy, sharing difficulties in the early years of her career. But she is a strong, resilient female and has handled every challenge that has come her way.

According to Kalar, there are challenges that she has faced that are like any other job. Whether it be personality differences or sub-par supervisors. Her best approach to these challenges is to fix the problem head-on, stating that in any conflict situation, communication is important.

“Has there been bad times? Of course there has. But I don’t think it’s any different from the corporate world,” Kalar said.

 When she has an issue with the department or someone within the department, she wants it fixed as soon as possible, so that she can go back to her job of fixing problems for others.

In the past, Kalar has had issues that she could not bring up to certain supervisors. She stressed the importance of having positive female role models or mentors who have been in her shoes who she could talk to. If these women cannot fix the problem directly, they would listen and help direct her to someone who could help.

Kalar reflected on a negative experience early on in her career that made her decide what kind of cop she wanted to be. Through her years of experience, Kalar has been able to differentiate between the good and bad qualities of her peers and the department’s leaders, each experience shaping her into a better officer and coworker.

After 23 years, Kalar has learned how to navigate the ins and outs of the job and has always loved being a part of the police department.

“I love what I do. I do this for other people, I want to serve the community,” Kalar said. “In order for me to be able to serve the community, I have to be happy and care about my job. And so that’s what I strive for.”

Officer Eleanor (Ellie) Ladd, a probationary police officer for the DMPD, has been serving her community for a little over a year now. For new hires, the probationary period is 18 months before the officer is officially part of the union. Ladd started her professional career in the corporate world but has always felt the call to service.

She decided to attend Navy Officer Candidate School when a couple of friends asked her if she has ever considered becoming a police officer. The thought had never occurred to her, but she loved the city of Des Moines and shortly after began the call to service at the Des Moines Police Academy.

Ladd is one of two female officers on First Watch Patrol, the shift from 9p.m.-7a.m. Most women opt for the Third Watch. Ladd drives a downtown car, meaning she gets to talk to people out and about or who live downtown, which has had a positive impact on her experience so far. Ladd stressed how much she loves living and working in Des Moines, calling the city, “the best kept secret in the Midwest.”

“I have some really awesome teammates and coworkers,” Ladd said. “That makes the work environment fantastic.”

In her experience so far, Ladd has not faced any harassment or discrimination for her gender or otherwise, including homophobia. Ladd is openly gay and said that her sexual orientation has not made a difference and if anything, has made things easier on her and her coworkers. A lot of her friends in the police department are straight males with wives, so she and her wife have the unique experience of spending time with all of them.

“It’s almost a pleasant surprise,” Ladd said.

Although she has not had the same experiences as other female officers, she feels empathetic toward the women who have not had a positive experience and recognizes her privilege.

“I only have a female experience; I also only have a lesbian female experience. I only have a white experience. It is who I am,” Ladd said.

Officer Holly Pickett has been with the Urbandale Police Department since 2010 and works in the Community Relations side of the department. Community Relations officers focus on addressing problems that the community voices to the department and provide education to the citizens on how to keep themselves safe and what they can expect from the police department.

Pickett’s first department was a two-man crew, made up of two female officers. This experience brought her up on the ideology that being a female police officer “wasn’t a big deal.” In that experience and her time with the Urbandale Police Department, she has never experienced any personal harassment or discrimination.

“I never felt like I’m just a woman here in a man’s world,” Pickett said.

However, she did note that there are some disparities between men and women that have been in place for a long time. For example, there used to be height and weight requirements for officers, because of this, uniforms were made for men. Even today, “female” uniforms do not quite fit right.

“We’ve not set ourselves up to be equal,” Pickett said.

She gave other examples, including the men’s locker room being far bigger than the women’s. Patrol cars are often designed to fit the body type of an average male, giving extra legroom in the driver’s seat. This leaves out officers, most often women, with smaller body types.

Pickett said that they are slowly shifting from what law enforcement used to be and what it is turning into. At this point, most male officers have hopefully worked with a female officer. Obviously, these things will not change overnight, but Pickett said that the system is catching up.

Pickett also addressed that the Urbandale Police Department recognizes the importance of having female officers on the streets.

“There’s obviously a comfort level when it’s woman-to-woman versus being a man to a woman,” Pickett said. “We realize that women are very important to law enforcement and because of that, we’re trying to add to it.”

A nationwide initiative to bring more women into the police force is gaining traction with police departments. Both the DMPD and the Urbandale Police Department have signed the 30×30 Pledge. The initiative is meant to bring more representation of women to the police system. Their overall goal is to increase female representation in police recruits to 30% by 2030. The initiative also seeks to ensure that policies and culture support current and future female officers throughout their careers.

Although these departments have pledged to increase the representation of women, there needs to be more women applying. 52% of the world is female, and Ladd said that Des Moines is working towards reflecting the population in their workplace.

“I know Des Moines is working really hard to grow that representation because it matters,” Ladd said.

Pickett thinks that the reason there are not many women applying is that society has taught us that it’s okay for men to go to work and for women to stay at home. However untrue this may be, a lot of women are thinking about their families. The idea of missing birthdays, Christmas, dance recitals and putting their kids to bed may steer women away from this line of work.

“I tend to think that maybe women take that a little bit harder than a man does and because of that, they choose not to apply,” Pickett said.

Increasing female recruits means switching up their efforts to get women to apply. The DMPD has had conversations with other police departments and other states to hear about their experiences. In November 2021, the DMPD had an open house for prospective recruits, something that Kalar had never seen done before in her career. The current Des Moines Police Academy recruit class is already at 25% female but would like to see 30% of employment at the DMPD.

Pickett’s role as a Community Relations officer includes recruitment. Their approach to grabbing the attention of women is to reach out to colleges and women’s groups, maintain a social media presence and make sure that on their ads there is always a woman on the cover. This way, women can see it, identify with it and know that a police department is more than just men.

“We’re trying to portray to people that we want women here and that it’s okay for women to come into this line of work,” Pickett said.

Ladd said that now is the perfect time for women to be police officers. The DMPD mentorship program has been invaluable to her experience so far. She always has someone to talk to and help her when she needs it. She never feels alone.

“I feel valued,” Ladd said. Both the Des Moines and Urbandale police departments, as well as many others across the country, are working hard to make the police system a safe place for women to work. Women are invaluable to this line of work, and departments are starting to realize just how important they really are. More and more women are feeling valued for their work, and it’s been a long time coming.