NCJ Number
104380
Date Published
1986
Length
264 pages
Annotation
Based primarily on unstructured interviews, this book describes the common frustrations of female correctional guards and their strategies for coping with a hostile environment marked by discrimination, sexual harassment, and vocal opposition from coworkers and inmates alike.
Abstract
While Title VII opened up occupational opportunities for women in corrections during the 1970's, the decade was also a volatile one for prisons. Male guards, already threatened by changes imposed from without, were antagonistic toward women coworkers. The book examines in detail the attitudes of prison administrators, male guards, union leaders, and inmates with regard to women's presence in men's prisons. Subsequent chapters address the forms that opposition to women takes and the ways in which this hostility shapes the working lives of the female guards. This discussion concludes that women usually adopt one of three strategies: perform a limited range of guard duties, avoiding inmate contact; work on all posts and obey all formal rules and procedures, but have no flexibility; and form alliances with the inmates. An assessment of female guards' impact on prisons comments that, while no evidence exists that their presence has led to a decrease in security, most female guards are less willing and able to use physical force against inmates than males. After exploring legal issues, the book suggests efforts that prison administrators and women can make to solve the practical problems created by women's presence in male prisons. Chapternotes, references, and index.