Georgetown Police sign 30X30 Pledge to advance women in the force

GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) – The Georgetown Police Department said Monday it joined more than 285 police agencies, including the Austin Police Department, in pledging to "improve the representation and experiences of women in law enforcement".

GPD said it signed the National 30X30 Pledge, which according to the department, helps agencies "assess the current state of a department with regard to gender equity, identify factors that may be driving any disparities, and develop and implement strategies and solutions to eliminate barriers and advance women in policing."

The Pledge comes from the 30x30 Initiative which, according to the announcement, is a coalition of police leaders, researchers and professional organizations who have joined together to advance the representation and experiences of women in all ranks of policing across the United States. The 30x30 Initiative is affiliated with the Policing Project at NYU School of Law and the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives.

According to the 30X30 website, women currently make up only 12% of sworn officers and 3% of police leadership in the U.S.

Georgetown PD said the ultimate goal of the 30x30 Initiative is to reach 30% of women in police recruit classes by 2030, and to ensure policing agencies are truly representative of the jurisdiction the agency serves.

“This pledge means that the Georgetown Police Department is actively working toward improving the representation and experiences of women officers in our agency,” said Georgetown Police Chief Cory Tchida in the announcement. “We are honored to be among the agencies to make this critical commitment, and we look forward to working with and learning from agencies across the country who share our priority.”

“We are grateful to the Georgetown Police Department for making a commitment to being a part of this growing movement” said Maureen McGough, co-founder of the 30x30 Initiative, in the announcement. “We believe strongly that advancing women in policing is critical to improving public safety outcomes. We look forward to having more agencies follow Georgetown Police Department’s lead by signing the pledge and improving the representation and experiences of women in policing.”