The Netherlands: Male & female police officers were taller than the average population; overall, especially among women, height was linearly associated with occupational rank: the taller one was, the higher one’s rank

Effect of Self-reported Height on Occupational Rank Among Police Officers: Especially for Women it Pays to be Tall. Abraham P. Buunk, Gert Stulp & Wilmar B. Schaufeli. Evolutionary Psychological Science, Apr 22 2021. https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40806-021-00281-1

Abstract: This study among 725 male and 247 female police officers from The Netherlands examined the association between self-reported height and occupational rank from the perspective of sexual selection. Male and female police officers were taller than the average population. A larger percentage of women than of men was found in the lowest ranks, but in the leadership positions, there was a similar percentage of women as of men. Overall, but especially among women, height was linearly associated with occupational rank: the taller one was, the higher one’s rank. These effects were independent of educational level and age. The implications for evolutionary theorizing from the perspective of sexual selection on the effect of tallness on status and dominance among women are discussed.

Discussion

The present study examined if among police officers self-reported height is related to occupational rank. It was expected that overall, taller officers would be higher in rank than short officers, and thus more likely to attain important leadership positions. Substantial evidence was found for this prediction. Unlike what one would expect on the basis of sexual selection theory and what has in generally been found previously (e.g., Judge & Cable, 2004), the association between self-reported height and occupational rank was much stronger among women than among men. Among women, from the rank of sergeant, there was a linear increase in self-reported height up till the highest rank of chief superintendent, suggesting that a woman’s career opportunities in the police force are affected by their height. Although the association between self-reported height and occupational rank for men was much weaker than among women, for men as well as for women the—statistical—effects of self-reported height were maintained when controlling for two factors that may be related to occupational rank, i.e., age and educational level. However, age might not necessarily be a reliable indicator of rank in such occupations as many officers may retire without having attained a high rank, and some officers may even be degraded in rank as a punishment. Furthermore, it must be noted that the effect sizes were small, and that there were some quite tall people in the lower ranks, and similarly some quite short people in the higher ranks. Nevertheless, in general, the present findings are in line with many studies that have shown that height is associated with rank and salary in organization (e.g., Judge & Cable, 2004).

There may be various reasons why the effect of self-reported height on occupational rank was much stronger for female than for male police officers. First, as women are shorter than men are, given the importance of having a kind of natural authority and physical strength as a police officer when dealing with the public, in the selection and promotion, more—though not necessarily conscious—attention may be paid to women’s height. Second, although there is evidence that women of medium height may feel they are most popular with the opposite sex (Stulp et al., 2013c), the present research fits with the evidence that taller women tend to be more career oriented (Deady & Smith, 2006; see also Buunk et al., 2019). Given the emphasis on affirmative action and given the positive stereotypes of tall people, taller women may be selected more likely for leadership positions than short women. Indeed, although this is no longer true for the Netherlands, as noted in the Introduction, in many European countries, there is a minimum height required for entering the police force (Kirchengast, 2010), and it is possible that in the Netherlands, still norms from the past play a role in hiring and promotion of police officers.

Although one might consider the association between self-reported height and occupational rank in the police organization in part as a result of unfounded prejudice against short people (cf. Lagestad, 2012), in police work, it may be to some extent functional to base one’s decisions to hire or promote tall women as they might be more effective in dealing with the public, especially with difficult situations involving male law transgressors. Taller people have simply an advantage in daily interactions. The present findings suggest that this was not the case: officers in the lowest levels of occupational rank were among men and women shorter than officers in the higher levels. Interestingly, there is some evidence that short officers may have better physical skills (Lagestad, 2012), which help them in fulfilling their tasks adequately.

In the present research, it was not possible to examine the influence of childhood environments on height, but this would be an important venue to examine in future research. Even though height is for about 80% heritable (e.g., McEvoy & Visscher, 2009; Perola et al., 2007), psychosocial stress and malnutrition during childhood do all adversely affect growth (e.g., Silventoinen, 2003; Cavelaars et al., 2000; Mascie-Taylor, 1991; Nyström Peck & Lundberg, 1995). A positive association between self-reported height and occupational status, especially among women, as found in the present research may be in part a result of one’s childhood environment, which not only positively affects height but also health (Silventoinen et al., 1999) and cognitive abilities (Case & Paxson, 2008). Nevertheless, the present findings are in line with other studies that showed that, even when controlling for family background, height may be positively associated with socioeconomic status (e.g., Magnussen et al., 2006), and with social skills (Persico et al., 2004; Cinnirella & Winter, 2009).

Given the relatively recent opening of leadership positions to women in The Netherlands, there were a number of relevant descriptive findings on the rank of women in the police force. First, although there were numerically fewer women in the highest level, the percentage of women at that level was the same as that of men. This may indicate that currently, there is less discrimination of women than before when it comes to top positions in the Dutch police organization. Second, the effect of gender on occupational rank was small and smaller than that of educational level and age. This suggests that one of the reasons that there are more men than women in the higher ranks may in part be due to the fact that women have only recently entered the Dutch police force in substantial numbers, and therefore are younger, and have had less time to build up the necessary experience to advance up in the organization. Women in the present sample were indeed on average nearly 7 years younger than men. Nevertheless, educational level had a strong effect on occupational rank, and female officers were more highly educated than male officers. In future research, it would be important to unravel the precise processes underlying the effects of height, educational level, and gender on the rank in the police force.

Finally, the current research has a number of potential limitations. First, as noted above, the effect sizes were not very large. Second, like in most studies, self-reported height rather than actual height was assessed, and individuals may overestimate their height. However, as noted in the “Method,” there is considerable evidence for a very high correlation between self-reported and actual height (Ekström et al., 2015; Lasalle et al., 2013). Moreover, there is evidence that actual height is in a similar way associated with for example status and attractiveness as self-reported height (e.g., Stulp et al., 2013c). A third potential limitation of the present findings is that these may be particularly relevant for organizations where physical dominance is an advantage, including not only the police but also for example fire brigades, the armed forces, or rescue services.

To conclude, the present research suggests that in organizations, at least self-reported height may be associated more strongly with status and dominance among women than among men. Given the finding that there is evidence that short police students of both sexes generally perform better in physical tests than tall police students (Lagestad, 2012), it seems possible that also stereotypes may play a role, inducing halo effects favoring taller people, without paying enough attention to their actual qualifications. However, in general, it seems that such halo effects do occur more with respect to men than with respect to women (e.g., Jackson & Ervin, 1992). It is important to examine in future research which processes are responsible for the effect of height on organizational rank, and especially for sex differences in this respect. In any case, the present research may hopefully increase in general the awareness of the potential importance of height of women in a specific type of organizational settings, i.e., the police force, a phenomenon that has received relative attention in research so far.