Research shows that women in law enforcement are few in number, and their numbers decrease as they try to move up the ranks of command. The National Center for Women & Policing reported that women represented only 12.7 percent of all sworn law enforcement positions in large agencies that had 100 or more sworn officers. In 1990, women made up 9% of all sworn officers. The current status and rate is only 4% higher than in 1990. Women will have difficulty achieving a hiring rate equal to that of their male partners at the current rate. Although research has indicated that both men and women are capable of performing the job effectively, a potential bias in police hiring would explain the low number of mothers-in-law