Female representation in law enforcement, despite significant improvements in past decades, remains markedly low at approximately 12%. One... Show moreFemale representation in law enforcement, despite significant improvements in past decades, remains markedly low at approximately 12%. One possible barrier is the clinical psychological evaluation (CPE), a type of individualized assessment used to evaluate the mental or emotional fitness for duty of applicants. The present study examines the presence of potential gender bias in CPE for law enforcement positions by examining self-report personality assessment scores as well as narrative CPE recommendation reports generated by evaluating psychologists. Archival CPE data collected between 2014 through 2019 was obtained from a personnel selection consulting firm for entry-level law enforcement candidates (n = 390). Data included candidate scores on self-report psychological assessments (16PF, IPI-2), candidate background information, and psychologist-generated evaluation reports. A computer-aided text analysis using LIWC-22 was used to measure gender related inferences in the narrative report. Results indicated that (a) women received significantly lower assessor recommendation ratings than men, (b) significant differences in self-report personality scores were observed, however these were limited to a narrow subsection of traits, (c) gender was no longer a significant predictor of CPE outcome after controlling for applicant personality trait scores, and (d) meaningful differences in agency-related inferences in the narrative reports were observed, but it is unclear whether gender stereotypes influenced the reports. Practical implications, study limitations, and directions for future research are discussed. Show less
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