Gender Doesn’t Matter—Except When it Does: Exploring Officers’ Gendered Experiences Within the Community Corrections Organization

Abstract

Limited research has explored how gender impacts community corrections officers’ (CCOs) work experiences. Using interviews with 22 CCOs from a community corrections department in the southeastern U.S., the current study considers how gender matters to those working in the field. Participants asserted that gender was irrelevant to their professional experiences; however, when discussing their professional interactions more broadly, CCOs described gendered norms embedded within the organization. They focused on the masculine ethic, but CCOs also discussed the differential treatment experienced by men and women officers, sexual harassment, gendered symbols, and the presence of homosocial reproduction in the department.

Keywords

gendered organization community corrections probation parole masculine ethic women officers

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