Relações de Poder e Gênero no Alto Comando da Polícia Militar de Minas Gerais: Uma Análise da Percepção das Mulheres Policiais

The present study brings as theme the relations of power and gender in High Command of Military Police of Minas Gerais Estate. The main goal of this study is to comprehend how police women, who occupy leading positions in the administrative departments of Military Police of Minas Gerais, cognize the expressions of relations of power and gender inside that Institution. This study was theoretically grounded on relations of power and the strands of analyzes about power and the relations of gender in the military environment. The methodical arrangement was guided by a qualitative and descriptive approach based on a case study of Military Police of Minas Gerais. Then the information was analyzed based on four dimensions: The relations of power in the administrative departments of Military Police of Minas Gerais; relations of gender experienced by women; female work in the male space; and survival strategies and consolidation of woman’s power. Among the results found, stands out the continuous presence of subtle and complex relations, which cover power and gender in the institution, a fact that creates the constant need of self-assertion of policewomen, once the female figure in the police needs to excel in their functions all the time, searching acceptance on the same level as that given to a male figure.