ABSTRACT
Traditionally, in the United States, men and women in the correctional system have been subjected to nearly the same standards of operational management. This is especially true of the 3,328 local jails and houses of correction (Bureau of Justice Statistics 1998). Only 18 are exclusively for women (Gray et al 1995); the remainder house both men and women within the same facility. Although most of the state prisons separate the sexes, the State Departments of Correction establish and maintain the same operating standards for all facilities. While the women's facilities are sometimes permitted some discretion regarding daily operational procedures, such discretion is generally minimal and must conform to the overall paradigm of power and control — most usually defined by male administrators.
