Gender relations and division of labour among prison officers in Swedish male prisons

• In Sweden female officers is a since long established fact. Today women make up about 38% of the prison officer work force. However, the distribution of sexes in the organisation is quite uneven between different types of prison wings and units, and at the in-group level there is an informal gendered division of labour going on. The article deals with how a gendered division of labour comes about as a result of socially established motives and notions among prison officers as well as prisoners about men’s and women’s different qualities in performing different types of work tasks. It is based on data from a minor interview study (2006), and a three-year multi-strategic research project containing qualitative case-studies and a nationwide survey (2007-2009). The article concludes that a great number of female officers contribute to a more prominent position for the rehabilitative side of prison work. However, the on-going gendered division of labour in and between wings and units is also one important factor behind sub-cultural differentiation and variations in work practices in the prison organization. A more balanced distribution of the sexes would stimulate rehabilitative work, and a more unified view of the occupational role throughout the whole organization.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi -- Socialt arbete (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology -- Social Work (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Division of labour

emotion work

emotional labour

gender relations

gender

prison officers

prison work

rehabilitation

Sweden

Social Work

Socialt arbete

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)