Can Women Be Successful
Executive Protection Agents?
It might come as a surprise that women in 2023 are STILL searching Google for the answer to this question.
In the world of Executive Protection, the question of whether women can succeed as agents has been long-debated. For years, the male-dominated field of Executive Protection has been seen as a place where only men thrive. But times have changed, and it's becoming increasingly clear that women are just as capable of protecting their clients as their male counterparts. In this blog, we discuss a female agent's unique abilities that facilitate her being able to excel in the field of security and how she can capitalize on societal norms and stereotypes that ultimately will further her career.
One of the most distinguishing qualities of female Executive Protection agents is their incredible ability to blend in with their surroundings. In recent years, we have seen that women in EP can often accomplish going unnoticed working a security detail more effectively than men.
Why is this so?
One of the reasons is due to the effects media and entertainment have had on popular western culture. Thanks to decades of men being cast as "bodyguards", "spies, and "security agents", society automatically assumes the security agent to any high-profile client will be a male. Furthermore, media has generally given the role of assistant, secretary, or damsel in distress to women, making it even less likely women could possibly have such a "masculine" job title like "EP agent" in real life.
For example, the majority of the population will think nothing of two women walking alongside a group of teenage girls into a makeup store. Little would the public know the girls are actually foreign royalty. People would go about their day as usual. Also, no one would think anything of two women walking into a men's clothing store with four men. The public would assume the women are the wives or friends of the men. They would generally never guess these men are some of the wealthiest tech investors and the women are their security.
Now, consider this - if we changed one of the situations and there were two men walking alongside the group of teenage girls into a makeup store, people would most likely turn their head and question what these two men were doing. Then people would notice the two men were not shopping and would begin to question the entire situation. The assumption would be that these girls were a big deal, then gossip would start, videos would be taken and posted on social media, and who knows what would happen after that. The security of the teenage girls could be compromised if their location pops up in the feed of the wrong person.
Ultimately, all of this attention could be avoided if women replaced the men agents. The female agents would blend in perfectly, pretend to be shopping with the girls and no one would think anything of it. FEPG knows this is what happens because we have experienced it multiple times. We are proud that women agents can capitalize on societal norms and go undetected with important clients.
Another reason women agents go unnoticed while working for high-profile clients is because men are usually seen as the ones to fill jobs requiring physical "strength". Science has proven that due to biology, most men are physically "stronger" than women. Therefore, it is more believable to society that a male would be better suited for a job that stereotypically requires hand-to-hand combat or brute strength. Female executive protection agents know better than believing "brute strength" is at all involved with the majority of EP work if the job is done correctly. Brute strength is always the last line of defense against a dangerous threat.
FEPG believes if brute strength is used - something went very wrong well before it got to that point.
In fact, brute strength is becoming rather irrelevant thanks to so many "equalizers" found on the market these days. An equalizer can be the hidden pistol holstered in a female agent's waistband. An attacker could be the strongest man in the world but realistically he will not survive being shot multiple times in the head/chest kill zones. It doesn't take much strength to pull a trigger.
In our experience, we've seen a lot of other EP websites try to argue that women are more aware of their surroundings than men. They also try to say women are better communicators than men. Some even write women have a higher level of emotional intelligence than men. To even attempt to use these baseless statements as plausible rationale is ridiculous. Agents with true experience in the EP field know better than to believe these generalizations about males or females. FEPG firmly believes women and men are equally as capable at performing EP duties. Each agent possesses their own strengths and weaknesses and no two agents are the same. FEPG is the biggest supporter of women in the EP field, but we are far from siding with extreme feminists who attempt to put men down in order to gain "power" and "respect". Becoming the dominant "sex" is not on our agenda.
Women can excel in the EP industry because they bring a unique set of skills and experiences to the table that can benefit clients. Some cultures do not want male agents around their women or children - so they employ female security agents. Also, a woman might individually prefer to have a female security agent because she feels more comfortable around females than males. Women may be more attuned to the needs of female clients or be better equipped to handle situations that involve pregnancy, infants, and children than their male counterparts.
Women EP agents can succeed and excel in this industry if they act professionally, train continually, and maintain a good reputation.
Their unique skill sets and abilities can make them an invaluable asset to any Executive Protection team.
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