• 13
  • February
    2011

When we work hard, we expect that our achievements will be rewarded. Working extra hours and having seniority should count for something when you are applying for a promotion. Gender should not be a factor. However, many women who work in fields that are historically dominated by men are often unfairly discriminated against because of their gender.

A police officer in Beverly Hills, California, is suing the department for precisely that reason - gender discrimination. Rachel has been a police officer with the department for more than 15 years, and during that time she lost multiple promotion opportunities to men with significantly less experience. To confirm whether the men were less qualified, a Los Angeles judge recently granted Rachel's lawyers permission to review the files of the six officers who were promoted instead of Rachel.

According to the Beverly Hills Courier, Rachel is claiming that her career was ruined because less-qualified male officers received her promotions. She was told she would be "promoted to detective once a position became available," but when she applied to six different positions, a less-qualified male was selected for each.

During her career with the police department, Rachel spent most of her time working as a school resource officer. However, it looks like that decision will be used against her. Lawyers defending the City characterized Rachel as a "one-dimensional police officer, not as qualified as the others despite having seniority." They even described her as more of a teacher or assistant principal than a police officer.

There is almost always competition when individuals apply for positions; however, it is also a manager's job to work with his or her direct reports to make sure appropriate advancement opportunities are available. If the City is alleging that Rachel's work as a school resource officer made her under-qualified for a promotion, perhaps her manager should have worked with her to help ensure she moved into other positions to help keep her aligned with her career track.

Source: Beverly Hills Courier, "Beverly Hills Police Officer Sues City, Claims Discrimination," Adam Popescu, 10 February 2011