A Few Questions: Women in CP

annie

I was only female on my course, and all the courses i was involved with after that there was usually only 1 female.

Sexism will always exist within any industry the world over, but i find having a sense of humor, being able to take a joke as well as dish the banter out is always the best way to be.

And whereas we are women and should act as such, never look for special compensations because you are female, and yes there is really such a thing as too much make-up.

At the end of the day it is just another job, and you shouldn't feel you need to prove yourself to your male co-workers. After all if you have the job then you have got the job on your own merits. But as in many areas of life, it takes a lifetime to build a good reputation and a second to lose it.

If you train with a good company that is respected within the industry then you are giving yourself a good base to start from.... the rest is then up to you and how much you want it.

I'd not like to comment upon wether or not there is a flooded market for women, but there are certainly many more female ops than there was before the sia came along. If you decide to go down the road then be prepared to work very hard, and get very frustrated like most of us have at some point

Best of luck though

niand

Hi, I'm a female, I got my UK CPO licence in April 2007, and have still (Sep '08) not got even 1 day of security work (that includes static guarding, eventing, door work etc). OK, so in my case it's partially coz I can't afford to drop my salary to minimum wage in order to get a foot in, but it still shows how tough it is.
Employers don't care about physical suitability either, I'm 5'11"-6", heavy (11,5 stones), and that still doesn't help. Nor do they care that I'll travel practically anywhere in the world for work.
My advice is: If you intend to give it a shot, you must do more than a standard 1 month CP course. You should do lots of other courses on top of that, such as Surveillance f ex. You should also only train with the top training providers. Military or police background seems to be a must, even for females. If you're a "complete civilian", like me, you're likely to start from the bottom, no matter what training you've had: Minimum wage static guarding, moving on to border control/airports (typical pay £6.50/h), then to door work (£10/h., but self-employed so you must pay your own tax). So you will be spending a lot of money to start with, and it'll take months or maybe years of low-wage jobs before you get a decent salary. There might be more work for females within surveillance, I don't know. If I could afford it I'd take a surveillance course.
Yes, there's lots of sexism in the industry. You should definitely avoid being the only female at a course, you'll have a very tough time. A lot of the guys will treat you like you're worthless and that you've nothing to contribute with, they won't treat you as an equal and you are definitely at risk of assault. I even had one of the TRAINERS threaten me with sex at the CP course I took! (**** ***********, so do NOT train with them). Plus I got pushed, elbowed in the face etc., and that was not in connection with the training (obviously you'll get a bit beaten up when you do things like self-defence training, but that's only a few bruises, and part of the job). There are exceptions as always, some guys will be nice to you, but don't rely on the nice guys helping you or standing up for you, if the not-so-nice ones start messing with you. You're on your own - not easy in a class of 20. In comparison to average jobs and average men, the typical CP guy will be more likely to be violent towards women.
You apparently need to know the "right" people, too. I don't know anyone, so I'm not getting anywhere either. Networking is essential. If you really want the job then by all means go for it, but it's likely to mean lots of hard work, expensive courses, and for very little money in return.
Hope this helps a bit, if you've more questions don't hesitate to ask me. Take care and good luck!

tazape

I know of a couple of companies looking for female ops, whether it be Guarding / DS and they are paying more than the going rate, i for one had a vacancy for a female until a week ago when i had to fill it with a guy as time was a factor and i had no takers. I have worked with females in the past and on certain occasions have prefered it.
There is work out there you just have to find it.
The problem is is that some guys when confronted with a female (professionally) dont know how to react, the first thing they do is look no further than the chest, they then think of all the bad things for having a female on the team (IE PMT, RW etc), then they think its another bod i have to look after, not thinking of the things you could offer.
These people have been used to a lot of banter between mostly men, so somethings they say may be misconstrued if your not used to it.
And to be honest it doesnt matter whether your male or female if your new to the Circuit you will find it tough, and yes you will have to start from the bottom.

niand

Hahaha, does that mean I should include "never suffers from PMS" in my CV...lol (which is true, by the way).

Tazape, where did you advertise your female op position, by the way? If I'd seen it I probably would've applied.
I'm (almost) flat-chested, so no one will look there twice, I'm plain-looking as well and don't wear make-up unless told to do so, I'll wear what I'm told to wear (within moderation, I wouldn't work in a bikini, miniskirt or skimpy top f ex). If I f ex go to the Middle East I'll wear a veil, or even a burkha or hijab, that's not a problem. Unfortunately I'm long-haired at the moment coz my fiance wants that, as soon as I'm married I'll cut my hair off though.

Yes, it does make sense having to start from the bottom, the problem is if that leads to you losing your flat coz you can't pay your rent... Personally I'm very frustrated coz I typically get paid £9.47-£12.62/hour PAYE doing care work, whereas if I risked my life doing security I'd get £5.50/hour...So as long as I'm not living with an employed partner it's probably impossible for me to start out in security, at least on a full-time basis. I guess I just have to be patient.

sutty

i wasn't threatened with sex on the task course.

I'm gonna complain

tazape

I advertise with a couple of agencies and on occasion Gumtree (more and more jobs are cropping up there). With OT its decent money.
In london with a decent firm you should be able to get atleast £8.50-£10 for guarding, canary wharf for one where paying £10ph. SD's can get £9.50-£12.50 depending where you work. Alternativley you could do the P/T thing for events, festivals (in the season), try companies like ShowSec, Show and Event, M+A (music and arts), both Show&event and M&A do a lot of film premiers. (anything for experience).

And if i get anything in future for females i will post on here

annie

No offence here Niand .... but openly slating a training company and more or less accusing someone of sexual assault is hardly ging to endear you to offers of work...... I came back from my course looking like i'd gone a round with Ricky Hatton, had a huge black eye from where someone hit me in the face with handcuffs, was bruised everywhere, but i took it all in the context that it was a training course to be a CP not a training course to arrange flowers and the like, and the fact i bruise very easily anyway. But thats the nature of a training course where a bit of physical contact is usually involved, and you may get a few knocks and sc*censored**censored**censored**censored*s along the way. I actually prefered being the only female on my course because i don't particularly play well with other women (minds out of the gutter please!), and the likelihood is most females will end up training in a group where they are the only female...... it's called life, and it gives you a very good indication of how the industry will be too! If you get a few knocks and the boys get a bit rough.... then you give back as good as you get

Stevejones

Perhaps you should consider doing a hostile environment course, Ronin Concepts UK or SA are both good courses though a mil or pol background is pretty much a must for this line of work. You'll be working with ex service lads who seem to have a better angle on how to treat women in these situations. I pressume the course you attended was aimed at th UK market only so there will be more emphasis on physical contact. I think naming a training company and the slating the staff is not the way ahead, this industry relies on operators/client confidentiality so a willingness to name and shame in any situation will not bode well for future employment. A way in without experience is to qualify or specialise, try some of the med courses out there or as someone else has already mentioned try a surveillence course.

annie

I totally agree Steve, whereas it is totally unacceptable for any kind of sexual harassment in any situation naming names as such is very foolish and i'd say you certainly need to have some good evidence to back up your claim if you are going to bring a companies name into the mix!

It is a physical type of training, and only issues i had were that 'the law' prohibits men searching women and vice versa which makes it a little tricky when training to do such. So apart from that and one male in particular who refused to do any unarmed combat practice with me because i was quote ' so smaqll i'm scared i will break her' i really didn't have a problem. Although i am still mentally scarred from the sight of 5 very big swedish guys in their boxers

24/7

Well put Annie, BBB a good friend of mine has been working in a full time contract since nearly 5 years in Asia. She started off at the bottom and worked her self up to TL and is the only female on the team, neverless she had the right back ground, motivation and determination to reach the position she is now in (she is also making a mint). With hard work and networking BBB you will go far as a female as long as you bring the goods with you, what I have seen from your answers so far you have the humor and a quick witt about you which you will need in this male do