"'You're Going to Make a Hell of a Corrections Man Someday': Work Experiences of Female Wardens and Superintendents" (by Karen A. Altendorf): Review 1

Vote: Publish pending minor changes

The article draft is concise, with a clearly outlined methodological structure. The interviews portray a delicate balance that female wardens have to maintain, making navigating the profession's social and professional aspects difficult. It adds to the literature by providing an own voices perspective. The open-ended interview format allows the interviewees to speak their opinions fully without truncating their responses to fit yes/no or scaled answer cues.

The few edits needed are mainly related to clarifying the data collection process and identifying how the job category of warden differs from other penal roles that women traditionally held.

Problems, Barriers, and Challenges,

1. What non-guard positions were women traditionally given instead of being guards? A few examples, i.e. matrons, secretaries, etc. could show how the role of being a guard and later a warden is a position with significantly more power over male inmates and employees.

2. Further clarification of what constitutes traditional feminine behavior or traditional gender roles is needed to show the decisions women as correctional leaders have to make related to the presentation, job performance, and interactions.

Research Design

1. Related to the ACA 2001 Directory, is this the most recent directory available? Are there more recent numbers about women as wardens or superintendents? Has the number of 75 of 265 increased in the last 20 years? It would be good to identify if any further diversification of these supervisors has occurred, particularly related to race.

2. When was the study conducted? Is there a range of specific dates showing when the interviews took place?

Analysis/Implications

“Keep it Professional.” Section

1. Suggestion for additional context. Many interviewees talked about the difficulty of navigating the social side of the profession, particularly related to work friendships. How do social relationships differ from professional mentorships? Having a professional/work mentor has been shown to help provide career advancement for women in many professions.

   Possible sources to consider (in no particular order): Kim, A., DeValve, M., DeValve, E., & Johnson, W. (2003). Female wardens: results from national survey of state correctional executives. Prison Journal, 83(4), 406-425.

Possible resource to consider: Kim, A., DeValve, M., DeValve, E., & Johnson, W. (2003). Female wardens: results from national survey of state correctional executives. Prison Journal, 83(4), 406-425.