BRIEF HISTORY OF WOMEN IN FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT, Inc. (WIFLE)
Logo June 2021
| Logo March 2005 - June 2021 | Logo June 1998 - March 2005
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CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF WOMEN IN FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT, INC. IN 2024
WIFLE History in Brief
Women in Federal Law Enforcement, Inc.'s (WIFLE) predecessor was ICWIFLE (I C WIFLE) which is the acronym for the Interagency Committee on Women in Federal Law Enforcement hosted by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Treasury. ICWIFLE was originally formed as a task force created by the Office of Personnel Management in 1978. It was charged with studying reasons for the low numbers of women entering federal law enforcement - fields that opened to women only after President Richard Nixon signed Executive Order 11478 (EO 11478) on August 8, 1969. EO11478 provided equal opportunity in Federal employment for all persons; prohibited discrimination in employment because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, or age; and, promoted equal employment opportunity through a continuing affirmative program in each executive department and agency. WIFLE was established as a nonprofit organization June 28, 1999, as an outgrowth of ICWIFLE to carry forward the ICWIFLE mission and vision.
In 1971 and 1972, the first women were hired by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, into positions from which they had been previously barred based solely on their gender. These women carried firearms, executed search warrants and made arrests as had the men for all years prior to the EO.
From the ICWIFLE period in the 70's to the current-day WIFLE organizations (Women in Federal Law Enforcement, Inc. and the WIFLE Foundation, Inc.), we work together with the federal law enforcement community to recruit, promote and retain women in law enforcement careers, embrace and value diversity, provide empowerment, seek inclusiveness, expect integrity, advocate and strive for gender equity in federal law enforcement.
In 1991, ICWIFLE celebrated its 20th year anniversary. The program book for that year's conference is available
to read at https://wifle.org/icwifle/.
In June 2019, WIFLE celebrated its 20th year anniversary. A video produced for that event is available to watch at https://vimeo.com/345604660.
Join us. We are excellent at what we do!
Communication, Collaboration, Credibility
WIFLE HISTORY WIFLE has been around since 1978 when OPM formed the task force ICWIFLE, Interagency Committee on Women in Federal Law Enforcement. From 1999 to the present, we are a 501(c)(6) nonprofit known simply as WIFLE, Women in Federal Law Enforcement, Inc. We later established WIFLE Foundation, Inc., the training and scholarship entity, as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation with tax deductible authorization under IRS regulations (check with your accountant). |
The WIFLE Foundation, Inc.'s Annual Training Conference enhances knowledge in critical and timely law enforcement topics by presenting a variety of speakers from Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies and content experts across the United States. Highly acclaimed, WIFLE is a leader in professional training for women advancing their law enforcement career.  | WIFLE Foundation, Inc.
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