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You are here: Home / CAREER / Top cop Catherine Burn wants to see more women in senior positions

Top cop Catherine Burn wants to see more women in senior positions

10 January 2012 by Australian Women Online

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Women take on senior positions and promote gender equality in the workplace.

Australian workplaces are continuing to change and modernise, however, it can be difficult to make your mark in what has for a long time been a male-dominated industry.

But some people do break through the ranks and in recent years the public has begun to learn more about these talented individuals.

It was only November last year when Catherine Burn, the nation's highest ranked female police officer, took home the prize and title of Australian Business Woman of the Year.

In her capacity as deputy commissioner, corporate affairs, NSW Police Force, Burns oversees an annual budget of $2.7 billion, almost 20,000 staff and 4,000 specialist vehicles.

And now the top cop is kicking off her own personal campaign to see more women promoted to senior positions within the public service.

In an interview with the Australian Ms Burn said that while gender balance was hard to get right, it is also in the best interests of the police force and wider community.

"It's still very much a male dominated organisation," Ms Burn said of the organisation that has shaped her career.

"Since I joined, the number of women has increased quite dramatically. About 33 per cent of police officers and civilian staff are women and about 28 per cent are police officers."

The deputy commissioner was quick to praise the police force in its attempts to recruit more female staff, which has seen more and more women take on roles in the organisation.

"From research just done, we find that once women are in the system they do really well. Even in our promotion system they tend to outperform their male colleagues.

"It's getting them into the system [that's the problem]. I don't think there's any scarcity in the number of women who want to join but one of the barriers is the physical standard required."

In order to excel in the police force would-be recruits have to be able to flex some serious physical and mental muscle, passing high-intensity fitness exams and rigorous psychological tests.

Despite the initial challenges women are showing they can keep up with their male peers and take on the daily beat.

"With our constables and senior constables [the gender balance is] quite even. The difference is at the high levels and that reflects most organisations," she asserted.

The figures reflect a culture shift in the police force that has seen the introduction of family-friendly rosters and part-time work – making it easier for women with children to continue their career.

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