Surrey Police Federation announce Services to Women in Policing Award
27 November 2025
An officer who puts a huge amount of energy into making the force a better place for female officers and staff has won the Services to Women in Policing Award at the Surrey Police Federation Recognition Awards 2025.
Det Ch Insp Maxine Cilia is Chair of the Surrey Police Women’s Network, which drives initiatives to help female officers succeed in the workplace and helps women in the force feel seen, heard and valued.
Det Ch Insp Cilia said: “I’ve been with Surrey Police for 29 years, and I’ve always worked to improve the working environment for women. In more recent times, that's been around improving uniform standards for women and improving the way we treat women in the workplace around menopause.
“When I first joined Surrey Police, it was a very male-dominated organisation and I was the only woman on my team. I joined the Police Support Unit and then went on to do other things like become a conflict trainer, working in CID, I was a DC, and still doing public order policing. I'm only five foot three, and people kept saying, ‘Why do you want to do that?’. It was almost like they were saying, ‘Small women like you don't do that’.
“I had to break down every door, and once I started I didn’t want to stop – it was about making sure all women had opportunities.”
Most recently, Det Ch Insp Cilia has been working on the police uniform and ensuring that women have suitable, comfortable work trousers.
She spoke to women who were uncomfortable in the synthetic material, couldn’t do their trousers up properly, or were suffering to the point where they were developing infections. She said: “I thought, ‘This isn’t right and it has to change’.” After trialing a new uniform, Det Ch Insp Cilia succeeded in getting better women’s trousers accepted by the force.
Det Ch Insp Cilia also runs a support group for menopause and worked with the force on its menopause policy, which allows reasonable adjustments for female officers who are struggling with symptoms in the workplace. She hopes it will stop women from leaving policing because they are not being supported.
She added: “I also joined the national Menopause Action Group, and I'm now the regional lead for the South East. We've put in things like a menopause library with books people can borrow, we've got drop-in cafes and we’ve now got a menopause specialist in Occupational Health.”
Through the Women’s Network, Det Ch Insp Cilia helps amplify voices from other groups, including the Endometriosis Support Group and United Sisters in Policing, for ethnically diverse women in policing. She also helps organise an annual women’s conference, including awards to showcase the excellence of female offices and staff.
Surrey Police Federation Chair Darren Pemble said: “How are there enough hours in the day!? Maxine puts a huge amount of time and energy into her work, which has had a wide-reaching and meaningful impact on oraganisational culture.
“She has advocated for women in areas including flexible working, uniform, menopause policy and equitable promotion processes, and in doing so she helps create a more supportive work environment for everyone. She is also a brilliant mentor to other women in the organisation – this is such a well-deserved award, well done Maxine.”
As the winner of a Surrey Police Federation Recognition Award, Det Ch Insp Cilia will attend a prestigious Awards Ceremony on 4 December.
The lead sponsor for the Awards is Axon.
Also sponsoring are JMW Solicitors, Uniform Mortgages, Serve & Protect Credit Union, Police Mortgages, No1 Copperpot Credit Union, No5 Chambers, Accord, National Police Healthcare Scheme, The Surrey PCC, Police Friendly, Denis Mulholland Financial Solutions, Phillip Williams, Temple Legal, Slater & Gordon and Irwin Mitchell.
