Research Paper on:
Lynn Zimmer/ Women Guarding Men

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
several decades, which is that -- for the first time - women are being employed as prison guards in institutions housing male inmates. Prior to 1972, the practice  of hiring only men to guard male inmates was unquestioned and unchallenged (1). By 1986, when Zimmer published her study, women were working in all aspects of the criminal justice  system. The situation changed in less then a decade. In order to explore the ramifications of this change for all involved, Zimmer conducted an in-depth, empirical study of  female integration in to the role of prison guard. The main research method employed in this research was informal interviews (making this qualitative research), which were held with prison personnel  and inmates across the states of New York and Rhode Island. Recruitment for the study was also informal. Zimmer states that she spent a considerable amount of time in  the prison employee lounges of each prison, waiting for opportunities to interview prison employees, both female and male (214). Some interviews were brief; others last an hour or more (215).  Whenever possible, Zimmer collected relevant documents from each of the prisons that she visited. These included "letters, memos, internal reports, rule books, legal briefs, and administrative memorandums" (215).  One of the most difficult tasks involved in data collection came from trying to obtain permission to interview male inmates. However, Zimmer succeeded at this to a degree, although she  indicates that she would have liked the opportunity to interview more inmates. The women that Zimmer interviewed did not, for the most part, did not plan on being  a prison guard. Some of the women had formerly worked in the prison as clerical or administrative help. However, when they were accepted as guards, it nearly doubled their salaries