SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif — Women in law enforcement are empowering other women by sharing their journey of perseverance.
It's National Women's History Month, and the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office is highlighting their stories.
"I actually wanted to be an officer my entire life. My dad was a deputy with this department, and so I kind of grew up in this family," said Elizabeth Woodward, a recruit training officer with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Academy.
Woodward joined the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office at the age of 22. As a recruit training officer, she's witnessed many women thriving in the department -- a big change from back when jobs were limited.
"Women broke through in the sheriff's ranks very early on in the 50s and what have you. So, from where they started, they were allowed to work patrol services. They were allowed to do a lot of jobs, but they fought to join the ranks with the men," said Sgt. Amar Gandhi, the spokesperson for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.
This National Women's History Month, women now have equal footing as anyone else. But the journey hasn't always been easy.
"I think there was definitely a time in which being a female in law enforcement was extremely challenging. Definitely, a lot of glass ceilings and barriers to overcome," said Shelby Rowland, a recruit training officer for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Academy.
Rowland says she's lucky she joined the department at a time when other women had already paved the way. Her desire to become an officer is to serve her community.
"I think definitely lending a female voice to the community is definitely a benefit. I've seen it to only be advantageous to us and the community," said Rowland.
Women in the department have come a long way since they first joined. Their mission now is to empower other women to join them in following their dreams.
"Be resilient, be persistent," said Rowland.
"You are just as good as anybody else. You can fight just as hard as them. It's the will, right? Just because I can't lift 200 pounds doesn't mean I'm not gonna be there for you and fight to the bare end. So as long as you have that in you -- that fight -- you can do this job just as much as anybody else," added Woodward.
The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office is actively working on recruiting women to join them. They say you can stop by the academy to try out the training they do. You can also visit the Sacramento County Sheriff's Academy website here.
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