SURREY — Cpl. Marina Wilks remembers when her mentor told her of having to carry her gun around in a purse and wear a skirt as part of her RCMP uniform.
Times have changed since women first joined the RCMP in 1974.
Throughout Wilks' 17 years of service, spending the last 11 years at the Surrey detachment, she has worn the same policing uniform as her peers.
In fact, Wilks said she has always felt she's been treated equally in the maledominated field. With the upcoming International Women's Day on Saturday, March 8, she said it reflects how far women have come in policing.
Wilks says it's not groundbreaking for a female officer to be working general duty in Surrey.
"It was groundbreaking 35 years ago," she said. "My whole career, there's been women in the force so it's normal to me that women are here."
Hailing from a small town in New Brunswick, Wilks has known she wanted to be a Mountie since she was a child. She has no regrets about her career choice and says her favourite part is the people she gets to work with.
She and her coworkers see the worst sometimes and she points out that not everybody shares the same experiences that police do.
"So when you go through those mad, bad, sad incidents, it's an automatic bond."
Whether man or woman, each officer brings a different set of strengths and weaknesses to their team.
Females are predominantly known for having a higher degree of "softer skills," she said. Wilks points out women often use emotional connections and communication skills
because they generally don't have the size and weight of male officers.
Wilks says she has always felt a sense of equality in the RCMP.
"We don't think any different when a female comes in, it's 'Yay, we have another police officer,'" Wilks said. "And that's what we want."
Although historically that has not always been the case, and Surrey RCMP Cpl. Bert Paquet believes that a lot of old-fashioned attitudes have been adjusted and changed along the way.
As he said, "There's no going back, and not only can they do as good of a job as a man in any circumstance, but they bring that special skill set that very often a man will not provide."
Paquet says that with the range of services provided to the City of Surrey by the RCMP, having both male and female officers is "essential in doing the best job we possibly can do."
International Women's Day is an annual event celebrated around the globe.
Several events in Surrey celebrate International Women’s Day
* The Surrey Arts Centre hosts a number of famed female comedians on Friday, March 7, for the show “I Am Woman Hear Me Laff.†Tickets are $35 and can be purchased online
at www.surrey.ca.
* The City Centre Library’s women’s workshop includes street strategies for women presented by Surrey RCMP. The workshop runs Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. To register, call 604-501-5100.
* The 12th annual Shakti Awards Gala honours International Women’s Day on Saturday. Twelve local women will be awarded this year. Tickets for this event can be purchased at www.surrey.ca.