Work and Gender Issues in Secure Juvenile Delinquency Facilities

Abstract

The aim of this research was to study the effects of a majority or minority status in the work environment (referred to as "tokenism" by R. M. Kanter) on certain markers of work-life quality among direct care staff working with juvenile delinquents in sexually segregated residential facilities. A sample of 401 youth counselors (162 men and 239 women) participated in the research. Four groups of subjects representing gender majority and minorities were created: men (n = 125) and women (n = 60) working with delinquent boys, and women (n = 179) and men (n = 37) working with delinquent girls. Self-report written assessments were used to measure sources of job stress, coping, job satisfaction, and burnout. Results indicated that ratios interact with gender to create different levels of work-life quality for majority and minority men and women.