Over the past 40 years, federal courts, the 1964 civil rights act, and affirmative action programs have dramatically changed the of the correctional officer force.

The Gender and Racial composition of the correctional officer force

Explanation:

Affirmative Action is policy meant to benefit groups of people that were previously discriminated against, and prevented from having the same job, education and well-being opportunities as the rest of the population.

And the 1964 Civil Rights Act enforces protections against discrimination for minority groups.

Both policies help boost employment of women and racial minorities in both the public and private sector. Correctional officers are mostly public employees, and public agencies, both state and federal, have the obligation to employ minorities and women as a certain percentage of their total workforce.

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