Blog 17

The NBC video was much different than prisons, men or women, are typically portrayed. However, Britton does mention that women's prisons are portrayed with a lot of sexuality, and the documentary definitely highlighted the relationships and sex that happens between the inmates. Similar to the men's prisons, though, relationships are also used as a way to survive while on the inside. Guards were portrayed very differently in the two videos. The NBC special was more consistent with the guards in Britton's study. In the video it was especially emphasized that men are accompanied by female guards when proximate to the inmates. The video also downplayed any abuse that slips through as well. Overall, though, the image of the women's facility was that of order. SimilarlyBritton's study showed that there was a desire to keep order on both sides of the bars to avoid the consequences. Britton's guards discuss that their training was aided by inmates. While this shows a general desire for order, it also can be very detrimental to the guard. As is mentioned in the shorter video, these are criminals and guards still need to be careful. If a CO were to let his or her guard down it could have fatal consequences. This also isn't mentioned in the NBC special. Officers have several views of the inmates, based on their training and on the type of inmate. There were distinctions between older inmates who don't cause much trouble and the younger more unpredictable ones. Many of the COs were trained to view the inmates as lower than themselves--like beasts. African-American and Latino officers noticed more racism directed toward the inmates by the other officers. They also report the difference in inmate behavior in women's and men's prisons. Men tend to segregate themselves more and stick with routine to the point of violence when disrupted. Women do not segregate themselves the same way--they mix racially. They also don't stick with routines the same way men do. Language of the overseer deals with how the officer may approach each inmate, and how culture plays into that. What the culture of each inmate is, along with the personality, helps dictate how to approach them as the authority.

Blog 16

The path to being a correctional officer is very different for men and women. The common thread, though, is that no one decided to go into that field. Everyone in the survey happened upon it by accident or just gave it a try, only to be surprised that they liked it. In addition to that, job benefits were attractive to all who chose to work as officers. Government benefits and vacation, along with a competetive salary were all draws to start working as correctional officers (CO) and also part of what has kept them there. Men were typically in a related field, like the military, or had knowledge of someone in the job or one very similar. For men to transfer in from the military is not much of a stretch. Many of the ideals are similar, and it's very structured. Also, both the military and the prison system are very gendered fields. Most of the members of the military are men and it's geared toward making men the best they can be. It also is appealing to minority men, as the median income for a correctional officer is higher than the racial median income as a high school graduate. This is not so for white male high school graduates, though, as their median income is $4,000 higher. Women usually take a different path. Many women actually came from clerical work. They feel they more or less drifted into this line of work. One in particular started in the prison with a clerical job and transitioned into guard work. Other women cam from divorce or retail. For all it was a change, but not as harsh as they thought it would be. Only two women came from the military or something similar. It is unclear to me what clerical or retail work would have in common with correctional work, but there is enough of a connection to have attracted 37% of each group for women from the study.

Blog 15

In 1977 about 11,000 women were in prisons. Currently more than that are incarcerated each year. In addition to that, 70% of those women are mothers. Many of the crimes are for nonviolent low-level drug charges and a disproportionate number are poor and racial minorities. While reading the information provided, I noticed that much of the data relied on sentencing policies and how tough a state decided to be on 'the war on drugs'. This was discouraging to me, mostly because by using these guidelines it gave a tone of permissibility in regards to drug sales. If this were an article focused on child drug use there would be a completely different solution suggested than which level of drug sales a woman (or man) should be imprisoned for. Another area that stood out was how many incarcerated women are mothers. After Units A and B in this class I realize that a child staying with someone other than a (in my opinion) potentially unfit mother may not be a better solution. Many low-income family members, or at least the ones shown so far, appear to have less cohesive bonds or less of a mutual ability to successfully raise children in terms of monetary and time needs. On the flip side, it may not be a bad thing that a child is removed from a home life filled with drugs and dysfunction. Nowhere in this article does it state that innocent women are being imprisoned. At least if the children see what can happen they're more likely to think twice before they repeat the pattern. While the reform movement had obvious racial flaws, the practices were a good start. The ideology was more accurate, even though middle class values may have been inconsistent with their inherent value systems. While I was repeatedly unable to get to the AZ Corrections website or anything similar, I would imagine Arizona was not a model state in women's reform.

Blog 14

Britton says the theory of gendered organizations states that "we should see organizations not as neutral organisms infected by the germs of the workers' gender identities but as sites in which these attributes are present in preexisting assumptions and constructed through ongoing practice." (p. 3). In chapter two she notes that prison work was tailored to the male body, which demonstrated no reproductive "risk". Women were kept separate and only given the unprofitable work, such as sewing for the officers or inmates. The entire notion of prison is male-focused, which supports that prison cannot be interpreted as neutral. Organizations are gendered throughout. Male and female workers contribute to gendered organization through agency by duplicating themselves in terms of gender and attributes. Structure happens with policies that may uphold beliefs about gender differences, even if they're minor. On the level of culture, we view different organizations as gendered. For example, most people think of a police officer as male, or a judge as male. CEOs are generally assumed men. This can even spill over into hiring practices, as employers may look for certain qualities that uphold these gender ideologies. When Britton says that organizations are gendered at the level of structure she means that the very concept of work and home life doesn't exist. It's work life and then whatever else, but that's not for the employer to think about. Originally when most women were unemployed at home taking care of children this probably worked very well. However, the idea hasn't changed much to adapt to working women. Even though more women are working they are also still the main caretakers. Therefore when the employer doesn't associate at all with her private sphere, the public sphere may suffer in the end. An example of this mentality changing is a workplace that has a daycare on campus. USAA is one such company.

Blog 13

When I think of the image of prison guards I immediately think of the Stanford Prison Experiment.  The guards became abusive, finding any way to brutally keep the inmates in place.  This has been the belief of people.  Because inmates are believed to be so anarchistic, prison guards are perceived to be burly pillars of strength that know the necessary steps to keep order.  If this description hasn’t already evoked the image of a man it should.  Men are thought to be the ones suitable for prison work and it’s always been thought of as a man’s job.  A woman in this position would probably resemble some manly characteristics.  She would also more likely be dispatched in an area where she has less or no contact with the inmates.  She probably is also expected to rely on the male prison guards for the heavy backup force if needed.  Originally women officers were thought of as “small-minded, intoxicated with their own power, vulgar, and occasionally cruel.” (p 53)

Male officers in female prisons can evoke either an officer and enforcer or someone who abuses his power for sex.  Reports discussed in Chapter Two of Britton discuss pregnancies due to male officers and other inmates. 

A male officer in a male prison is thought of as a custodial enforcer.  While it is known that there can be misuse of powers, they are thought of differently to a degree.  Men are thought to be more rational and have the skill set better adapted to a potentially violent situation in a prison.  

Blog 12

I believe that gender segregation exists because of widespread long-held social beliefs.  Not only have women long been described as the “fairer sex” but they’ve been expected to uphold all the traits a fairer sex would have.  This would include lesser physical strength, a weakened mental ability, and less of a desire to put herself in harm’s way.  This lack of desire for harm would also mean that men would be there to protect her should she be in trouble.  In addition to that, women still hold the majority of the responsibility in child-rearing.  As Britton states that women and men find the same job characteristics appealing, but women more often have to make trade-offs to balance family and work (p. 8).

When it comes to occupations, women’s and men’s jobs have been clearly defined for a long time.  Women tend to obtain the job that rely more on nurturing and have more flexible scheduling.  This is considered consistent with a woman’s nature and allows her to balance family life as well.  Rather than be a CEO, a woman is more likely to be that CEO’s secretary, because it relies more on taking care of her boss.  She also has less responsibility and therefore will not have interference with family life on the same level a CEO would. 

It isn’t just social factors that influence gender segregation in jobs.  Organizations have various forms of segregation, such as the laws for equal pay and overtime eligibility, both of which only benefit men in the long run.  In addition to that, there is the Dothard vs. Rawlinson case.  At first glance it appears to be a safety guideline, but when looking deeper it really only excludes women.  A better guideline would’ve been something like a strength test.  She qualified for everything except height and weight.

When women enter male-dominated fields they not only are expanding their horizons for potential careers, they are helping society move closer to gender equality.  It also opens the door for those women who are purely career-driven to more easily move up the ranks to positions where a personal life would not survive.  Men benefit, too, because they can see new approaches to their work and discover new perspectives that weren’t previously introduced.  Men are already welcomed into most women’s professions such as nursing.

Urban poverty vs. mixed neighborhoods (blog 8)

Urban poverty creates unique situations from mixed neighborhoods.  In neighborhoods that are completely poor, like ghettos, a lot of generational poverty exists.  Mothers have to not only try to make ends meet, but they also have to pay more attention to the environment that threatens their children’s well-being.  There is more illegal activity, more bad influences, and more physical dangers.  Children may not be allowed to play outside because their mother is afraid they could get shot, as Jessica stated in her interview.  After evaluating the interviews in the book it seems that the family system is less able to be as supportive as necessary, either because they don’t live there or because they’re preoccupied trying to make ends meet in their own household.  One other reason is that they’re untrustworthy for various reasons. 

Urban poverty is also more likely to break up the core family structure as well.  Since many males leave the family, are incarcerated or are abusive, mothers are left with the majority or complete child-rearing responsibility.  This not only is undue strain on the mothers and children, it also removes a model family life for children, which may in turn perpetuate through the generations, as does generational poverty. 

Another way urban poverty adds strain to life is that many of the jobs these single mothers can get are outside their neighborhood.  That means that they have to be gone from the household longer and travel further.  This not only takes up valuable time and childcare resources, it is more expensive, especially if they have a car and have to pay for gas. 

Mixed neighborhoods may have poor people in them, but as the name implies, there is more likely to be a stable family structure around them.  In addition to that, it’s less likely to be as dangerous of a neighborhood.  There may be neighbors around who are more trustworthy and able to help out somehow.  They may also be more likely to find work closer to home.  

Childcare instability (blog 7)

The main factor causing instability in childcare is job demands.  Any change in job means a change in childcare, since there is no other parent available to help ease the change for the children.  Julia cited that once she finally obtained a full-time job her only option was to work afternoon to evenings, 2pm-8pm.  This conflicted with Jacqueline’s daycare hours that ended at 6pm.  For this she was able to pay extra money and have an exception made for her with Sonia in order to allow her to work her job.  However, since the public assistance ran out she was no longer able to afford the extended hours and had to quit her job. 

While job demands may be the main cause of childcare instability it by far isn’t the only one.  Many mothers had concerns with the care their children were receiving, or in Julia’s case, the providers not being reimbursed by the agency.  Concern with care happened both with kin care and family childcare.  Julia realized Jacqueline’s father wasn’t doing anything but was eased by the fact that it was only three days a week under his supervision.  Her options for childcare were limited, especially before her full-time position.  Kin care was not always reliable or anything more than temporary.  Her best experience was with her sister who lived with her, but that ended once that sister needed to work more.  One of the mothers, Beth Pierce relies on her 15 year old daughter with cerebal palsy to aid in care.  Part of the afternoon the children are completely unsupervised due to no bridge childcare option. 

As the text pointed out, Juia was only able to progress her job situation upward when she had reliable childcare.  A sick kid can mean the end of a job, so it is very easy to become a vicious cycle between work and childcare instability.  It’s not only the mothers who suffer, but the children as well.  Speech delays are detected later, asthma isn’t always treated properly, and adequate attention to each child is limited in many cases.  

The array of childcare (blog 6)

Child care choices are determined primarily by availability, then by preference.  Brittany, for example, made several switches before she was able to get her preferred option, due to availability of both providers and money.  Some others, like Harriet, were only willing to have family members watch her son Horace, and she was able to make that happen.  Some of the mothers focused on learning activities, others on the health and well-being of aging family members, work schedules of everyone involved, and some (like Brittany) had to find a trustworthy situation before worrying about anything else. 

Concerns about development weren’t specifically about cognitive development, although there were concerns voiced regarding interaction between children and caregivers.  Mothers were concerned if the caregiver didn’t do much with their child.  Brittany had issues with two caregivers—one with payment for time missed, and another for trusting that she was watching her daughter when she said she was.   She cited that she analyzes the provider to make sure their attitude is consistent with enjoying their job and focusing on the care of her daughter with patience.  Lisa found that her mother was reliable but becoming physically unable to keep up with an active toddler.  For many, kin took on child care while the kids were infants and then transferred to family childcare or a childcare center if they could afford it. 

Considering that licensing isn’t required across the board and infrequent checks are made in some states requiring licenses, it compounds the problems that already exist in daycare settings.  These mothers are already stretched to the limit in terms of time and finances, and frequently don’t have access to or know of resources that could help them choose the best options.  This exacerbates the stress that mothers feel when choosing childcare.  At times it may even steer them away from choosing a childcare center over another option.  

Public responsibility to working poor (blog 5)

Mothers interviewed in Chapter 1 of Putting Children First had increasing difficulty paying for living expenses as they worked.  In fact, they were worse off financially after working than before.  Because the state (New York) only has the funds for the most dire of situations, as soon as someone leaves that bracket they are cut off or funds diminished.  The determinants of the various types of assistance don’t appear to be interconnected, either.  To give an example, when Annette (p. 8) started making $100 more per week, her daycare costs went up an extra $23 a week, her rent went up $130 a month, and she was going to lose her food stamp money of $74 per month.  That is an increase of $70.59 per week, which is hardly an increase in income at all.  Healthcare was not mentioned in her response, but if that applies she could be worse off than before. 

In addition to that, they are spending less time with their children due to their rigorous work demands.  This allows children to be more greatly influenced by outside factors and/or people, and weakens the family system.  Because of their lower SES they’re less likely to find quality childcare centers, or quality childcare in general.  This factor alone can contribute to a poorer standard of living, less cognitive development, and more behavioral problems.

People in the videos identified the ‘working poor’ as those who are working but cannot find a way to make a living wage.  An additional video examined generational poverty and mindsets that accompany it.  In that video, it explained that the poor are more likely to produce the poor, which eventually causes a hopeless outlook.  This becomes a public problem, not a personal one.  The financial aids available are intended to help poverty be situational rather than generational, but when they are inadequate they serve no one.  The aids themselves become situational by treating a few symptoms of poverty without reaching the source. The other problem, and possibly the biggest, is the government’s methods for doing things.  The excessive paperwork and time commitment is likely to conflict the most with those who truly need and are trying to work away from it.  In addition to that, the waiting lists that last months to a year are counterproductive.  With these flaws, the country is likely to see more generational working poor needing more assistance than ever.  We may also be likely to see more children in correctional facilities (with high recidivism).  This is a public problem if for no other reason than tax payers foot the bill for all of this. 

Introduction

Hi there, I'm Joanne and I'm a Psychology major in my last semester (can't wait to finish).  JoJo has been a nickname most have called me for about as long as I can remember.  I was able to sign up for this class on an exception basis as a substitute for a requirement for my minor that wasn't available.  

Women in justice mean several things to me.  Because my area of focus isn't in justice I tend to think of how women relate to the business world in general.  The area of justice I'm somewhat familiar with is female police officers, because of an old roommate who wanted to be one.  In that field women have to be able to stand their ground against a male-ruled environment, and still find a way to be like one of the guys in certain areas.  In the business world I follow a more general rule, one that I heard years ago.  Employers want women in charge who can lead men.  I no longer think in most situations that women are held back due to gender.  More likely, it's due to childbearing and subsequent maternity leave, and women who choose to stay home with their kids who make less with home-run businesses.  The one cultural factor that does come into play unfairly is that regardless of who's job is more demanding or higher in the food chain, women are expected to take responsibility for the majority of child rearing.  That means moms are more likely to pick up a sick kid than dads.  While many families may not have negative feelings toward this situation, it does have an impact on a woman's success.  Single moms (like myself) have additional hurdles, especially when juggling multiple schedules.  Successful ones may be able to hire nannies to allow more job options, but it can be very much like digging yourself out of a hole.

My reasons for choosing Psychology are because I love knowing what makes people tick.  If I can find out how they got there I feel I know them even better.  I also like helping people and make it known that if someone I know needs to talk I'm there.  I will be going into the corporate world, but psychology has a real benefit there as well, especially in how one learns to deal with people.  

I do look forward to this class and seeing how my current views compare with the material and if and how my views change over the semester.