NCJ Number
231792
Date Published
August 2008
Length
38 pages
Annotation
This report examines the growing role of women in the correctional workforce, with attention to what can be done to enhance women's career success in corrections.
Abstract
Over the last 8 years, there has been a 40-percent increase in the number of women working in correctional facilities, increasing from 108,913 in 1999 to 152,456 in 2007. Agency heads, administrators, and wardens have an opportunity to create an organizational culture conducive to providing women with experiences they need to become future leaders. In the corrections environment, women bring valued attributes, such as skills in collaboration, communication, and empathy. It is important for women who are working in corrections to observe as role models women with successful corrections careers. They must also be shown career pathways that provide them the training and expanded experiences in corrections work. Mentoring programs, both formal and informal, continue to demonstrate their effectiveness, especially for women seeking leadership positions. In addition to mixed-gender training, gender-specific training has had a positive impact on the personal and professional lives of women in corrections. Research related to college courses has found that in single-gender classes women learned more and contributed more to group discussions. Developing the most effective training environment for women is critical to their providing maximum value in any of the corrections fields. Regardless of organizational mission - whether probation parole, jail detention, or prison - the demands are the same for women, i.e., to develop essential knowledge, skills, abilities, and leadership aptitude. Appended supplementary data and information related to the advancement of women in corrections, and 166 notes