NCJ Number
76043
Date Published
1980
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The right of women to work in male correctional facilities has to be balanced with the right of inmates to privacy, according to this paper on the employment of cross-sex personnel in correctional facilities.
Abstract
The opportunities for women in all types of employment have been widened since 1964 by the passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which forbids sex discrimination at all levels of employment. Specific jobs can be classified by sex when it is a 'bona fide occupational qualification,' but this has been defined in a very narrow way by the courts. The majority of the concerns voiced about women employed as correctional officers fall into the category of social mythology. However, correctional administrators have to take into account the privacy of the inmates along with affirmative action requirements. The California Department of Corrections, for example, while endorsing the employment of women at all ranks and in all institutions, is not assigning women to any functions which involve routine viewing of the male body. A secondary issue arises out of this solution to competing concerns. When female correctional officers seek promotion, they may be denied because they have not been assigned to all the duties of a staff correctional officer. However, as female correctional personnel in male institutions become more common, problem issues such as this should be solved. Until then, administrators should be aware of the pitfalls associated with nontraditional personnel deployment. Discussion of relevant court cases and 9 references are included.