Issues that the association, National Association of Female Correctional Officers ( NAFCO), has identified as significant to their members are working towards sexual assault and harassment of female officers, and to promote the development and use of cutting edge technology. They are also trying to secure the passage of federal legislation that would help stop female officers from being raped and sexually assaulted while on duty.
Britton suggests lots of changes in order to change the structure of these institutions, but the biggest one is to change the connection between gender and inequality. “If our goal is the creation of less oppressively gendered organizational environments (Britton 2000), then the most fruitful implications of this work are those that can help us to mitigate the effects of the connection between gender and inequality.” (Britton 225) It will not be an easy thing and it will take a long time, but people just have to be patient and I think eventually everybody will see drastic changes. “Encouraging more realistic portrayals of prison life, depictions that do not revolve around hyperviolent images of animalistic inmates and sadistic wardens and officers would be a first step towards changing the cultural construction of the prison and our preconceptions about the occupation. Any stories of women’s real lives in prison would also be welcome.” (Britton 225) I think the real stories of women’s lives are very important. If you give people a way to genuine way to connect with these women, a lot more people will be supportive.
Preparing officers for training in both men and women’s institutions, whether they are male or female, is also a very good situation. Some men officers do not know how to handle these women in these institutes and some women officers do not know how to handle the men in these men institutions. Being given a diverse training would help out a lot because it would make these officers more prepared.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Blog 18
I definitely agree that the norm becomes masculine when institutions attempt to establish gender-neutral policies and practices. That happens in a lot of circumstances, but I can see where it is especially a problem in prisons. Honestly, when I think about prisons I think about men and that is it and in a way, since I am a woman, I think it is a complement. I can see how women actually in prison would not appreciate it, but once something is looked at a certain way, that way being masculine; it is hard to change that image. The way I look at it when setting policies you have to set them very high and you have to set them so that not one person is able to find a way around those policies so naturally you have to set them towards males because you have to make them indestructible to both genders and naturally it is going to be easier for men to find ways around policies if they are set to women’s standards than vice versa.
Many policies are practices are meant to be gender-neutral, but in the end it turns into gender inequality. For example, height and weight requirements, mandating promoted workers, and transfers. When it comes to being promoted, a lot of promotions occur somewhere else, like in another state and that makes it difficult for women to just pick up and leave because a lot of them have families. Same for just wanting to be promoted in general, a lot of women reject promotion because it takes more time away from their families. One white women said, “I love what I do, God, I’ve worked every profession that you could think of, but I love it. I love what I do. But it takes too much time away from my family. But if I was career-minded, I would definitely already have been trying to go up for rank.” (Britton 197)
Many policies are practices are meant to be gender-neutral, but in the end it turns into gender inequality. For example, height and weight requirements, mandating promoted workers, and transfers. When it comes to being promoted, a lot of promotions occur somewhere else, like in another state and that makes it difficult for women to just pick up and leave because a lot of them have families. Same for just wanting to be promoted in general, a lot of women reject promotion because it takes more time away from their families. One white women said, “I love what I do, God, I’ve worked every profession that you could think of, but I love it. I love what I do. But it takes too much time away from my family. But if I was career-minded, I would definitely already have been trying to go up for rank.” (Britton 197)
Blog 16
“Stereotypes abound about how one comes to be a correctional officer. By far the most common is the notion that those who seek out such employment do so because they posses authoritarian personalities and desire to indulge their taste for brutality.” (Britton 80) The stories are all different between men and women and the work experience is different as well. Different paths to prison work include the military, family in correctional work, law enforcement, degree/courses in criminology or criminal justice, administrative support, and technical sales, or service. The relationship between previous work experience and becoming a correctional officer is pretty significant with men, but not as significant with women. A lot of people say that they just drifted into this kind of work because of previous jobs and that is the case with most men. A lot of the men were police officers or something in the military before they became correctional officers, but that is not the case for a lot of women.
Social networks play a huge role in job opportunities and that goes for any job I think. It is all about knowing people and for correctional officers, social networks are gendered because a majority of them are men. The social network for correctional officers is mostly male because that occupation is male dominated, which makes it very hard for women to get in and even when they are in they are treated differently.
The two biggest motivations for becoming a correctional officer for both men and women is pay and benefits. From the readings it seems as if it is a good opportunity for people with no further education after high school. Another reason women take on a position like this is because of divorce. They need to double their income and they say this job makes the money for them.
Social networks play a huge role in job opportunities and that goes for any job I think. It is all about knowing people and for correctional officers, social networks are gendered because a majority of them are men. The social network for correctional officers is mostly male because that occupation is male dominated, which makes it very hard for women to get in and even when they are in they are treated differently.
The two biggest motivations for becoming a correctional officer for both men and women is pay and benefits. From the readings it seems as if it is a good opportunity for people with no further education after high school. Another reason women take on a position like this is because of divorce. They need to double their income and they say this job makes the money for them.
Blog 15
According to Judith Greene’s article, “Part I: Growth Trends and Recent Research”, “The imprisonment boom that began in the late 1970s has swelled the state and federal prison system to more than 1.4 million prisoners. Adding those held in local jails and other lockups (juvenile facilities, immigrant detention, etc.) the total number of people behind bars rises to almost 2.3 million – of which seven percent are women. At the end of 2004, 96,125 women were serving state or federal sentences – almost nine times the number in prison in 1977.” (Greene 1)
“As has been the case since the first prisons were built, women constitute a minority of America’s prison populations, currently accounting for 6.6 percent of the total, up from about 4 percent in 1925” (Britton 23) The number of women in prison has increased a lot faster than the number of men in prison because of how few women were in prison when men started being placed in prison. They did not start off at the same time, therefore leaving the number of women in prison to increase at a quicker pace than men.
When prisons were constructed they were not constructed with women in mind at all. Nothing about prisons were structured around women. “Neither the physical structures of these institutions nor their disciplinary regimes had been designed with women in mind, however. Administrators treated women either as afterthoughts or as annoyances. Reformers’ and legislatures’ mandate to separate the sexes in congregate institutions worked to disadvantage women, as wardens placed them in makeshift quarters away from the main (men’s) inmate population. (Britton 28) So, once you establish something a certain way and continue to perform those practices for awhile, it is hard to break away from them and start something new. That is why in institutions today, women are still treated like that in daily practices.
“As has been the case since the first prisons were built, women constitute a minority of America’s prison populations, currently accounting for 6.6 percent of the total, up from about 4 percent in 1925” (Britton 23) The number of women in prison has increased a lot faster than the number of men in prison because of how few women were in prison when men started being placed in prison. They did not start off at the same time, therefore leaving the number of women in prison to increase at a quicker pace than men.
When prisons were constructed they were not constructed with women in mind at all. Nothing about prisons were structured around women. “Neither the physical structures of these institutions nor their disciplinary regimes had been designed with women in mind, however. Administrators treated women either as afterthoughts or as annoyances. Reformers’ and legislatures’ mandate to separate the sexes in congregate institutions worked to disadvantage women, as wardens placed them in makeshift quarters away from the main (men’s) inmate population. (Britton 28) So, once you establish something a certain way and continue to perform those practices for awhile, it is hard to break away from them and start something new. That is why in institutions today, women are still treated like that in daily practices.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Blog 14
The theory of gendered organizations is a product of three factors: the structures of work organizations, the cultural and ideological assumptions upon which they draw and which in turn shape them, and the agency of workers themselves. When you have all three factors, the approach to gendered organizations is grounded in two key assumptions. “First, organizations must be viewed from within the context of an unequal society, one in which gender domination exists and is reproduced on an ongoing basis. Gender is not something imported into organizations with workers; it is an inseparable part of organizational structure. (Acker 1990, 1992; Williams 1995; see also Smith 1979). Second, in line with the interactionist tradition in the sociology of gender (Kessler and McKenna 1978; West and Zimmerman 1987; West and Fenstermaker 1995), I conceptualize gender as a process, the product of a social construction that can be carried out both at the micro level (by the individual actor) and at the macro level (by social institutions, policies, and practices) (Acker 1990, 1992; Britton 1997a, 2000; Pierce 1995; Williams 1995).” (Britton 6)
In Dana M. Brittohen’s book, she discusses gendered organizations linked with organizational structure. She discusses occupations being gendered through organizational structures, through agency and through culture. With organizational structure, “organizations build on and reproduce a division of labor between the public and private spheres, between production and reproduction (Acker 1992).” (Britton 7) Many jobs respect the private job because it is focused on work and it highly benefits men. Occupational segregation being gendered through agency “includes all the interactions in which workers are involved that, intentionally or not, invoke gender or reproduce gender inequality, as well as processes of identity construction through which individuals come to see themselves as “appropriately” gendered through their work.” (Britton 15) Gendering through culture focuses on “the “construction of images, symbols, and ideologies that justify, explain, and give legitimacy” (Acker 1992: 568) to institutions, organizations, and occupations.”
When Britton says that “organizations are gendered at the level of structure” (Britton 7) I believe that she means that all organizations are gender based and they gender base by a specific structure. It would of course be sexual discrimination to have a gendered organization, but when organizations have structures at which they do they do things, like gendering, they find ways to get around being accounted for sexual discrimination.
In Dana M. Brittohen’s book, she discusses gendered organizations linked with organizational structure. She discusses occupations being gendered through organizational structures, through agency and through culture. With organizational structure, “organizations build on and reproduce a division of labor between the public and private spheres, between production and reproduction (Acker 1992).” (Britton 7) Many jobs respect the private job because it is focused on work and it highly benefits men. Occupational segregation being gendered through agency “includes all the interactions in which workers are involved that, intentionally or not, invoke gender or reproduce gender inequality, as well as processes of identity construction through which individuals come to see themselves as “appropriately” gendered through their work.” (Britton 15) Gendering through culture focuses on “the “construction of images, symbols, and ideologies that justify, explain, and give legitimacy” (Acker 1992: 568) to institutions, organizations, and occupations.”
When Britton says that “organizations are gendered at the level of structure” (Britton 7) I believe that she means that all organizations are gender based and they gender base by a specific structure. It would of course be sexual discrimination to have a gendered organization, but when organizations have structures at which they do they do things, like gendering, they find ways to get around being accounted for sexual discrimination.
Blog 13
I think Britton names the image of a prison guard/correctional officer perfectly. “the vision in your mind’s eye is probably that of a hulking man in uniform carrying a nightstick or even a gun.” (Britton 1) Now, I would probably go a little farther and say a huge man, very muscular, tall and intimidating. I would also see the prison guard/correctional officer carrying a big gun, dressed in intimidating clothes as well and high black army looking boots. The only reason I have this image is because of the media. I have never actually seen a prison guard/correctional officer in my life, but almost every single media clip I have seen of a prison guard/correctional officer, that is what they look like. Never in a million years would an image of a woman come to mind when I thought of a prison guard/correctional officer and if it did by chance then she would probably look like a man.
When women are in non-traditional jobs, they are not represented well at all, they are definitely the minority. They have to put up with a lot of crap and they are treated unfairly. More specifically with policing-type jobs, they are treated like a man and they are expected to do everything a man would be able to do or else they are called out. Either that or they are babied because men in the policing-type jobs do not think they can do the same job as them. When publicized in the media, policing-type jobs are represented in the same way, they are always men.
Almost all images in popularized media referring to these types of jobs are images of men, but on that rare occasion that there might be a woman, the woman looks very manly. I have never seen a recruitment or promotional film for a job of this sort, but I would assume that the people in them are all men as well.
When women are in non-traditional jobs, they are not represented well at all, they are definitely the minority. They have to put up with a lot of crap and they are treated unfairly. More specifically with policing-type jobs, they are treated like a man and they are expected to do everything a man would be able to do or else they are called out. Either that or they are babied because men in the policing-type jobs do not think they can do the same job as them. When publicized in the media, policing-type jobs are represented in the same way, they are always men.
Almost all images in popularized media referring to these types of jobs are images of men, but on that rare occasion that there might be a woman, the woman looks very manly. I have never seen a recruitment or promotional film for a job of this sort, but I would assume that the people in them are all men as well.
Blog 12
Occupational segregation is basically the wage difference between men and women. “Though women make up to 47 percent of those working in the paid labor force, those who work full-time, year-round, make only 73 percent of the salaries of their male peers. Much of this difference is due to occupational segregation, that is, men and women are in different jobs, and the jobs women hold pay less, on average, that those that men occupy.” (Britton 5) Even when women are in the same exact occupation as men, they still tend to get paid less.
This type of discrimination exists even though we have laws against sexual discrimination because people find loop holes and simply because some people to follow the rules and others do not enforce them. “The reason is that administrators were left with a loophole, the bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) exemption. Under this rule, an employer who can show that a particular job cannot be performed by a member of one sex may legally discriminate in hiring.” (Britton 10)
Gender socialization relates to the formation of occupational segregation because naturally in almost any situation, men will stick with men and women will stick with women, which is segregation right there. This happens a lot when it comes to occupations especially because it is usually unfamiliar territory and when you are unfamiliar with something, you normally stick to your own kind, or what you know. Men will socialize more with men and women with women, especially in a working environment and I think a lot of this might have to do with the fact that men do not want to get accused of hitting on a certain woman if he is hanging out with her at work or talking to her too much and same for women. Also, when a woman comes into a male domination work place, the men are most likely not going to be very welcoming because they probably feel as if the woman or women are trying to take over their territory, but little do they know that woman is probably doing the same thing as them, but not making as much money.
This type of discrimination exists even though we have laws against sexual discrimination because people find loop holes and simply because some people to follow the rules and others do not enforce them. “The reason is that administrators were left with a loophole, the bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) exemption. Under this rule, an employer who can show that a particular job cannot be performed by a member of one sex may legally discriminate in hiring.” (Britton 10)
Gender socialization relates to the formation of occupational segregation because naturally in almost any situation, men will stick with men and women will stick with women, which is segregation right there. This happens a lot when it comes to occupations especially because it is usually unfamiliar territory and when you are unfamiliar with something, you normally stick to your own kind, or what you know. Men will socialize more with men and women with women, especially in a working environment and I think a lot of this might have to do with the fact that men do not want to get accused of hitting on a certain woman if he is hanging out with her at work or talking to her too much and same for women. Also, when a woman comes into a male domination work place, the men are most likely not going to be very welcoming because they probably feel as if the woman or women are trying to take over their territory, but little do they know that woman is probably doing the same thing as them, but not making as much money.
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