Introduction
A number of female employees are interested in occupying the positions in the corrections. The work in prison is usually considered as the male one and when women are noticed at those positions a number of questions arise. Correction establishments are presupposed for working with criminals who are prejudiced to be rude and unbalanced people. However, this is not really so. Even though the work of the correction staff differs greatly from any other work, women as the staff members are frequently met. Many scholars are interested in the problem of motivation of the females who occupy various positions in the corrections sphere. The main idea of this paper is to conduct a research and find the studies and articles devoted to the motivation of women employed in the corrections with the purpose to understand what exactly was not discussed and to create the research questions with the brief discussion of the methodology of the further research.
Theoretic Information: Literature review
The main idea of this part is to check the ideas offered by different scholars. Holland (2008) in the study The Feminization of the Community Corrections Work Force states that only since 1970s’ women were offered an opportunity to occupy the male positions. The author stresses on the desire to be equal to men and to prove the possibility for taking the positions which are presupposed to be dangerous. The study is focuses more on the barriers women had to overcome to be able to work along with men on equal terms. The research points at the careers where women are occupied more, however, it lacks the statistical data about the success women have gained at the corrections’ positions and the impact of that success on motivation for occupying those.
Stevens (2010) conducted a thorough research in the biases and complications women face when they are occupied at the positions in correction establishments. It becomes obvious that such problems as sexual harassment, gender discrimination, glass ceiling, commitment, and organizational polices are the barriers on the way of women to the managing positions in correction institutions, women are still motivated to take us the path of the correction officers as there are many women in prison and they are to be treated accordingly. Men are not always aware of the female needs, there for many women want to be useful to those who went the wrong path and appear on the way to their correction.
Lambert, Hogan, Altheimer and Wareham (2010) have conducted a research in the field of understanding why women choose the supervision positions in the correction establishments along with men. Having researched the job stress and job satisfaction factors, the author concludes that women get more stress from the supervision positions, however, their satisfaction is higher than those men get. Therefore, the satisfaction from the work may be the desire for getting the positions in the corrections institutions.
Tsoka and Mathipa (2001) are sure that women empower themselves to occupy the leading positions in the correction and education professions as have the desire to overcome the possible cases of discrimination and the lack of male appraisal of their possibilities. Therefore, it may be concluded that many men do not believe that women may be good leaders on the male positions.
McAloney (2011) considered the experiences of prison officers who served during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It should be mentioned that studying the life of people after the events who continued their work and were retired differed greatly. It should be mentioned that the number of those who were satisfied with the retirement was greater, however, those respondents who reported low satisfaction in employment during the considered period were still pleased with the fact that they managed to come it through. Therefore, the possibility to come through those events has an encouraging impact and raise self esteem.
Research Question
Having considered the studies and the information gathered there, it may be concluded that many women are motivated by the desire to overcome men in their places. Thus, the research questions which are to be studied may be as follows:
- Why are women motivated by the desire to be more successful then men on the male positions?
- Are the glass ceiling and the organizational polices directed predominantly at men may be considered as another reason for being motivated to become the staff member in the correction?
Approach
The interview should be applied to as the main method for the research. Therefore, the qualitative research should be applied.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be stated that there are a lot of reasons for women to become the leaders in the correction institutions. Being motivated by the desire to meet the needs of the imprisoned women, to help those in the complicated conditions, to show the power and strength at the male positions and to prove men that they are as powerful as the men are and that women are able to cope with the complicated tasks. Discrimination, glass ceiling and organizational polices which are usually directed at men may be also believed as the reasons to overcome the difficulties and take up the professions which are believed to be male ones. The prejudices in the relation to women are usually considered as the motivation for women to show that the biases in most cases are groundless.
Reference List
Holland, J. G. (2008). The Feminization of the Community Corrections Work Force. Corrections Today, 70(4), 44.
Lambert, E. G., Hogan, N. L., Altheimer, I., & Wareham, J. (2010). The Effects of Different Aspects of Supervision Among Female and Male Correctional Staff: A Preliminary Study. Criminal Justice Review, 35(4), 492.
McAloney, K. (2011). Life after prison: the experiences of prison officers serving during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism & Political Aggression, 3(1), 20-34.
Stevens, K. D. (2010). Addressing Gender Issues Among Staff in Community Corrections. Corrections Today, 72(5), 32.
Tsoka E.M., & Mathipa, E.R. (2001). Possible barriers to the advancement of women to leadership positions in the education profession. South African Journal of Education, 21(4), 324-331.