When most people think of prisons, they imagine chaos, violence, and fundamentally, an atmosphere of overwhelming
brute masculinity. But real prisons rarely fit the "Big House" stereotype of popular film and literature.
One fifth of all correctional officers are women, and the rate at which women are imprisoned is growing faster
than that of men. Yet, despite increasing numbers of women prisoners and officers, ideas about prison life and
prison work are sill dominated by an exaggerated image of men's prisons where inmates supposedly struggle for physical
dominance.
In a rare comparative analysis of men's and women's prisons, Dana Britton identifies the factors that influence
the gendering of the American workplace, a process that often leaves women in lower-paying jobs with less prestige
and responsibility.
In interviews with dozens of male and female officers in five prisons, Britton explains how gender shapes their
day-to-day work experiences. Combining criminology, penology, and feminist theory, she offers a radical new argument
for the persistence of gender inequality in prisons and other organizations. At Work in the Iron Cage demonstrates
the importance of the prison as a site of gender relations as well as social control.
Table of Contents
1. Engendering the Prison
2. Penology in America: Men's and Women's Prisons as Gendered Projects
3. From Turnkey to Officer: Prison Work in Historical Perspective
4. Paths to Prison
5. Work with Inmates
6. The Rest of the Job: Coworkers, Supervisors, and Satisfaction
7. Conclusion