Cross-Gender Perceptions of Corrections Officers in Gender-Segregated Prisons

This paper explores the similarities and differences between women and men correctional officers in an all men and an all women prison in a Midwestern state. The similarities outnumbered the differences, and it was determined that the acceptance of women correctional officers by their male counterparts in both prisons was high. The acceptance of women officers in the corrections field appears to have improved. However, women correctional officers perceive their male counterparts as being better supervisors and counselors of both men and women inmates. Acceptance of women correctional officers working in an all male facility was higher by men officers than by the other women correctional officers. Many of the fears of women working in corrections documented from the 1970s seemed to have dissipated. There was a lack of comprehensive demographic data on women correctional officers and on whether there is a difference between those who serve at a women's prison and those who serve in an all men's prison.