Why does the UK police service still have a poor representation of women in positions of authority and what should the organisation be doing to improve the career progression of female officers?

Recent research has indicated that in most developed democracies the percentage of sworn women police remains at or below one quarter, with much lower numbers in management ranks, (Cordner and Cordner, 2011; Moses, 2010; Stroshine and Brandl, 2011). Why does the UK police service still have a poor representation of women in positions of authority and what should the organisation be doing to improve the career progression of female officers?