Women are stepping up and taking their place in the world, and nothing is going to stop them.
“I think it’s awesome the world has evolved to accept the fact that we can do this job as well as a male person in this role. We’re afforded the same opportunities and the same pay, equipment, and uniform, in order to do the job that we’ve chosen to do,” said Bonnyville RCMP Sgt. Kim Hillier.
Although that wasn’t always the case, everyday more and more women are stepping into industries that were once dominated by men.
It wasn’t until 1974 that women were welcomed into the RCMP.
“The original uniform in 1974 was skirts, so there were women in the field climbing over fences and chasing after suspects in pump shoes and skirts,” detailed S/Sgt. Sarah Parke. “I’m certainly glad we’ve evolved from that.”
Carrying their guns in clutches, women fulfilled their lifelong dreams of becoming police officers regardless of the stereotypes at the time.
Over the years, their uniforms and practices have changed, and now, thousands of females make their way through the RCMP training academy in pursuit of their aspirations.
“I would say the number has definitely increased since the time I went through,” Parke said. “It’s more common to see women in policing than when I first joined.”
She was one of the six women in her troop, while Hillier had 10 female companions in hers.
Both knew they wanted to become police officers at a young age, and they didn’t let the fact that it’s a career generally dominated by men stop them.
“Intimidated, no; cognizant, yes. I acknowledged there would be fewer female cadets going through the training academy when I went through than males, but I didn’t allow that to deter me or intimidate me,” expressed Parke.
Hillier added, “I had joined as an auxiliary. I had volunteered my time for three years beforehand, so I wasn’t intimidated by becoming a full-fledge police officer, because I had already worked beside men and women officers. I didn’t feel that being a woman was detrimental at all to being able to police.”
Parke outlined one incident where she experienced “the negative affects of workplace harassment and intimidation from a colleague,” as a result of her gender.
“A vast majority of my career, literally the rest of my career other than that one scenario, has been very positive. My fellow colleagues, male and female, I think, judge me on the merit of my work ethic and positive attitude,” she noted.
Hiller agreed that as female RCMP members, they’re seen and treated by the public the same as their male counterparts.
She explained, “You’re going to have people who are less open whether you’re female or a different race, but that’s just on a person-to-person basis… The only thing I have found as a female policing, is I have had to sometimes adapt my policing style because physiologically, I’m not as strong as some of the men police officers.”
While in most cases they’re treated as equals, Hillier had one instance where a complainant on a file refused to speak to her because she was a woman, but she said, “that was that one person’s personal opinion.”
Similar to Parke and Hillier, Capt. Kim Ferguson from the La Corey Fire Department always had a drive to help others.
“Before I joined with the department, I didn’t really know how to do that. By joining, and through years of training, I’ve learned how to assist people when they’re at their worst,” Ferguson said.
At first, she was nervous about the fact that the fire department was so male-dominated.
“When I first made that call to the La Corey Fire Hall to ask them about their post looking for new members, I was (intimidated)… But, I’ve never experience anything but support from the people that I’ve come into contact with.”
Ferguson joined the department in 2015, and wishes she had done it sooner.
This is one of the reasons why she is encouraging women interested to just pick up the phone.
“If it’s something a female thinks she would like to do, there’s nothing stopping you from doing that.”
She continued, “I’ve never felt any different than any of the guys. There are some physical limitations, generally we’re not as strong as men, but we find different ways to do things, and in the end, we can all do the same job.”
The same goes for the RCMP.
Parke and Hillier are a dynamic-duo at the local detachment, holding the highest positions.
They agreed that they’ve been given the same opportunity as men.
“Just like them, we still have to prove that we deserve it,” Parke added.
All three women encourage others to go for their goals, regardless of whether it’s in a male-dominated field.
“You have to pursue what your heart tells you to,” stressed Hillier. “If your heart is leading you to policing and to helping people… then give it a try, you’ll only figure it out by trying.”
