Women in male corrections

Prisons today are faced with male oppositional resistance regarding women. Historically, the role of the prison guards has been traditionally segregated and portrayed as a masculine profession with terms like risk taking, leadership, athleticism, dominance, and power, thus it is primarily a male dominated subculture. Male peer systems like the correctional system seem to retain the notion that women are not capable of performing their duties as well as them, hence those who do cross the masculine barrier face heavy male resistance. Fundamentally, Brown and Sargent (1995) propose that informal institutional barriers exist to keep women from participating in the more masculine aspects of the job. They suggest that part of the reason women are underrepresented is due to the lack of encouragement provided by supervisors and the negative responses they receive from male officers. Studies have shown that gender plays an intricate role at the fundamental level within training academies. Male cadets learn hegemonic masculinity that it is acceptable to exclude women, that they are biologically different from men and thus can be treated differently, that degrading and objectifying women is a common place and expected, and that they can disregard women in authority. Without serious change, the prison culture will continue to degrade, subordinate, and oppress female correctional officers.

Brown, J., & Sargent, S. (1995). Policewomen and firearms in British police service.

Policing, 18, 1-16.