Police departments in Hawaii are being asked to significantly boost the number of women in their ranks with the recent passage of House Bill 2231, which aims to increase diversity among law enforcement agencies in the state. 

The bill, which awaits the governor’s signature, sets a goal of having 30% of law enforcement staff be women or people who identify as nonbinary by 2030. The measure also calls for departments to recruit officers from diverse backgrounds. About 13% of sworn personnel in the Honolulu Police Department were women in 2023, on par with the national average. 

Improving the diversity of law enforcement agencies nationwide is vital for fostering trust between those agencies and the public, legislators acknowledged in the bill, referencing key findings in the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing that shows the need for greater representation of women and minorities in law enforcement roles across the country.

Persistent barriers remain between women and jobs in law enforcement, though, including entrenched departmental cultures favoring men and policies that hinder the balance between policing careers and family responsibilities, according to a 2019 National Institute of Justice report. 

“I’m glad they are pushing to bring in more female officers,” said Erica Paredes, a deputy sheriff at the Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement. “It will be a great opportunity for us to show we belong as well.”

Paredes said her department employs fewer than 20 women out of 400 people on staff. She knows of only one other woman working in her entire building. 

“You have these masculine guys,” Paredes said, “and then you have females that remind people of aunty or mom. So it’s a different thing we bring to the table.”

Besides a written test, Paredes said she had to pass a physical agility test that included running 1.5 miles in less than 18 minutes, alongside minimums for push-ups and sit-ups. There also were psychological exams, voice analysis assessments and tests on legal knowledge. Paredes recalled it took her a year to complete the process, including six months spent at the police academy.

Paredes, who has three children, said the transition into law enforcement was difficult in the beginning, as she had to rebalance her life.

“You have the role of being there as a mom and kind of having to be there for your kids when it comes time for school work or bedtime,” Paredes said, “and sometimes, you’re not able to be there.” 

Multiple agencies, including the Honolulu Police Department and the State of Hawaii Organization Of Police Officers, submitted testimony in support of the bill.

The Policing Project at NYU School of Law, while applauding the ambition of having 30% female officers in every law enforcement agency in the state by 2030, pointed out that it might be unrealistic due to the staff retirement and turnover required to make that happen. The organization recommended in testimony that Hawaii set a more achievable target of having 30% women in recruit classes by 2030.

The Policing Project is one of the organizations behind the national 30×30 Initiative, an effort to increase the representation of women in police recruit classes to 30% by 2030. The project also focuses on ensuring that department policies and culture actively support the success of qualified women officers throughout their careers. 

Tanya Meisenholder, director of gender equity at the Policing Project, says the initiative has seen results. 

“Madison, Wisconsin, for instance, just got over 30% for recruiting women and we’ve also seen a number of agencies put policies in place around pregnancy and maternal leave,” Meisenholder said. “Hawaii could potentially see these  impacts in the long run.”

Sen. Karl Rhoads, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the bill is a first step in the right direction.

“It’s important to have diversity in any profession, people from various backgrounds and educational perspectives,” Rhoads said, “especially in law enforcement.”