The Role of Women In Today’s Private Security Scenario

What is the first image that pops in our minds when we hear the word bodyguard? A big guy probably over 6 feet tall, flexing his heavily built arms in uniform, hands crossed in front, standing behind some wealthy person who needs protection or maybe not, but the intimidation is real.

Some Bollywood fanatics might even think of Salman Khan due to some reason.

But nobody thinks of an alert woman in full uniform as a bodyguard standing behind the wealthy person, not looking intimidating, but to be true is extremely more dangerous than the heavily built guy due to the rigorous training she had and her unorthodox and unusual methods which gives her an edge in the field.

What makes the actions of these female security personnel unorthodox and unusual? And what is the convention that we have, making us imagine a big man as a bodyguard but not a woman?

• The traditional idea is that men are physically more strong and are more fit for the tasks which require brute force. This idea might be true to some extent in usual cases.

• Another traditional idea is that physical security services require men who are bodybuilders or wrestlers or at least men who are more inclined towards the giant look.

Now the first idea might be still true that men are somewhat physically stronger than women usually, it’s what nature made us.

But the second idea is not even close to the truth. It has become a convention, due to some reasons like the depiction of physical security personnel in Hollywood or Bollywood movies, or the ancient thinking that all the security you need can be provided by a guy who looks like John Cena.

Nothing can be farther from the truth. And due to these two traditional ideas, women were usually shunned from the private security sector.

Is the private security sector is still somewhat a predominantly male-oriented industry?

Yes, the private security sector is still somewhat a predominantly male-oriented industry, but today companies are shedding their old stereotypes real fast for the sake of growth in the industry. They are realizing the importance of diversity as a stimulant to the growth process in the industry.

Advancement of various sectors in the past dozen years has made it a necessity to grow in order to survive for everybody. And the private security sector in our nation is already a victim of malnutrition and slow growth.

The real pusher for any industry towards growth is the creativity and the innovations that their employees bring forward and the diversity in the workplace and among the employees acts as a metabolism booster for the company, blowing the cinders of the company in a full-fledged fire.

The thought process is different for different genders. Thus this mixup of genders stimulates different thought processes, also suggesting fresh approaches to the old problems, solving them in new ways.

Due to this reason,

• Today there is a vast amount of opportunities available for women in the security sector today. Organizations are eager to employ women and retain them, to increase diversity in the workplace.

• And then as we know that the industry has been a male dominant one. The major amount of field workers are men, even today. Their thought process becomes somewhat the same, given time and it has become stagnant.

• This gives the women working actively in the field an edge. They are more inconspicuous, have a different thought process compared to their male comrades in the sector, and women makeup with brains what they lack in brute strength compared to male colleagues.

• This is how their methods become unorthodox and unusual, giving them an edge in the field. They handle situations more delicately, thinking all the possibilities thoroughly, and choosing the best option.

Whereas we know that their male counterparts are inclined to meet the situations head-on, without thinking all of the possibilities. Sometimes this approach is not the best option. This is giving women an unpredictable edge in the field.

And the increased demand for women in the sector is evident due to this. The organizations are recruiting and promoting more women today for obvious reasons.

If you are an aspiring woman looking for work in the private security sector, now is the time. The career pathways are wide open. You just need to be hungry and zealous, and you can advance swiftly through the ranks of such organizations providing physical security.

Women are in demand even for the high-expertise executive posts due to the sole reason that these organizations need to be in the leadership of women, who can see things through a new perspective.  

And the sweet thing is that there are no special qualifications required to join these private security providing industries. All the special training you need to operate and work as security personnel will be provided by the company usually.