Prison Guards, Female (U.S.)

Women were first hired as prison guards in the 1830s, but it was not until the mid-20th century that female correctional officers began pushing for equal opportunities in the field. At first, female officers were primarily assigned to women's institutions, but today woman are employed at all levels of the correctional system. The fundamental basis for equality in prison work stems from Title VII, a 1972 amendment to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, declaring it is illegal to base any terms of employment on race, sex, religion, or national origin. However, there was a stipulation that stated that employment could be restricted for one's gender, if the individual did not meet certain job requirements. In Dothard v. Rawlison (1977), the Supreme Court ruled that minimum requirements were not job related. Thus, Title VII is hailed as pivotal for equality in hiring women in male-dominated professions.

In the 1990s, the rate of women working in corrections began to increase. In the mid 1990s, it was estimated that 19 percent of correctional officers in both state and federal prisons were women. By 2005, this number had increased to 27.4 percent. Regarding jails, women account for 34 percent and 40.8 percent of guards in government and private facilities, respectively. It is difficult to distinguish employment by rank or institution, but it has been estimated that 65 percent of correctional officers in women's facilities are female, but less than 15 percent of guards in male facilities are women. There appears to be a correlation between level of security and percentage of female staff.

There are three objections to women working in male facilities. Though the issue of privacy was never an issue until women started staffing male facilities, some have argued that female officers invade the privacy rights of male inmates. In some instances women have been prohibited from working posts that have increased contact with male inmates, but the courts have favored the rights of employees over privacy concerns. Concern has been voiced, too, regarding the security of institutions where some feel women are weaker than men, but there is no evidence to support this notion. Further, it has been argued that female officers are likely to be attacked by an inmate, but research finds that females are no more likely to be assaulted than male officers. In fact, a 1996 study found that men were four times more likely to be attacked by an inmate than women and that female officers tend to relax tension and conflict, sometimes improving dress code, behavior, and language among inmates. The presence of female officers reportedly has normalized the prison environment.

There are two general models used to explain why gender differences exist in job performance. The “gender model” suggests that individuals bring certain characteristics to the job, while the “job model” implies that the organizational structure influences how each individual operates. Regardless of theoretical models of behavior, studies find that both male and female correctional officers report gender differences in job performance. Male officers report that women are “soft” or “nice” and act in a maternal [Page 1155]fashion. Some might see this as invective, but female officers stated that they were more “human-service oriented” and likely to use appropriate interpersonal skills when interacting with offenders.

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