For women only

The Post Standard, Syracuse, NY
Sunday, October 07, 2007
By Sue Weibezahl Porter Staff writer

Women should avoid gossiping at work, being too bossy at home and should eat ice cream to avoid burnout.

That advice, and more, can be found in a handbook for female officers graduating from the state Department of Correctional Services academy.

The blue booklet, "Orientation Handbook for Female Staff Working in an Institutional Setting," has been distributed to new female guards for at least 20 years and is still being handed out.

No such book exists for new male corrections officers, said Erik Kriss, public information director for the department.

"There are several mistakes which females make in their relationships with one another," the book says, then mentions "rumor spreading," "jealousy among other female staff members" and "classification snobbery," or looking down on female civilian employees. These behaviors are disruptive in the workplace, the book says.

It's that message that is helping Penny Collins, of Marcellus, substantiate her claim of harassment and discrimination filed against the Department of Correctional Services in federal court, her lawyer said.

"To hand out something like that, it just shows how pervasive this is in the department," said attorney John Valentino, of Syracuse. "They still seem to be living in the 1950s."

Collins said more than a dozen other women in New York have similar lawsuits against the department.

Kriss said the department does not keep a list of how many lawsuits have been filed or who has filed them. He also said the department would not comment on pending lawsuits.

Collins is one of 2,264 female corrections officers. The department has 19,633 men in corrections.

"Females generally have the primary responsibility for the care of their offspring," the book notes. "Don't hesitate to talk to other female employees. They may be a good source for obtaining information on desired support services."

The book has sections on "wolf whistles" and "catcalls" and says women shouldn't use profanity "to be one of the boys" and should "eliminate flirtatious mannerisms while on the job."

"This is wrong on so many levels, I don't even know where to start," said Rosemary Agonito, former director of women's studies at the Rochester Institute of Technology who runs a workplace consulting firm. "This is just bizarre in the extreme in this day and age."

It reinforces negative stereotypes and "puts the burden on women to behave in certain ways without asking comparable things of men," said Agonito, of Onondaga, who has written six books on gender issues in the workplace, including "No More Nice Girl."

Kriss said the agency's 19-page book was written by corrections officials in the 1980s "in response to situations that had arisen over the years that were unique to women corrections officers and to help women anticipate what to expect and how to handle it."

"Before then, there really weren't very many women in our department," he said.

Kriss said he could not cite any specific situations involving female guards that prompted the book to be written by officials in the department's Office of Diversity Management.

"There were no big high-profile events," he said. "The fact of the matter is if you're a female going into an all-male facility, they're going to be treated differently."

He said the book is not required reading.

It's given to them. They're not tested on it," said Kriss.

The book, and other policies and documents, have been under review since May by the new corrections commissioner, Brian Fischer, said Kriss.

The booklet seems to be limited to the Department of Corrections.

Sgt. Kern Swoboda, speaking for the state police, said, "We would not do anything like that."

"Going back to 1973, when our first female recruits came on the job, we had issues we dealt with over the course of time, but we have progressed to a very professional organization that trains all of our members, regardless of their gender, with respect and dignity," Swoboda said.

Lt. Dennis Greco, who runs the Central New York police academy, said, "We have nothing like that (book) whatsoever, nor do I see anything like that being handed out in the future."

"There are no specific pitfalls women would fall into that males wouldn't. That's why we train everyone the same way," Greco said.