Prison Leadership and Gender

Women as prisoner leaders have generally not been considered in the prison literature. This chapter argues that the caring and maternal side of women in prison often studied in general prison literature is crucial for prison leadership. By drawing on the experiences of one prisoner leader we see that when acts of concern and kindness for other women drive their leadership. There is also power in multiple voices and this solidarity gives strength and motivation to further lead and advocate for others. Female prison leadership is therefore informal and relational and inspired by doing what is right. It is not hierarchical but collaborative. This moves beyond depictions of women in prison as weak and unable to cope. Being a female prisoner leader is not always easy because of institutional barriers and also misperceptions and gender stereotyping such as women being seen as manipulative. This can be perceived to put those who speak out at risk of jeopardising a smooth journey through their sentence. Prisoner leadership is also shown to be intersectional and women of different faiths, ethnicities, ages and with different sentence lengths and educational experiences will have different experiences of prisoner leadership.