Feminists for Hire: The Role of College Advising in Criminal Justice Employment

• In Event: “Isn’t the Revolution Over?” The Demise or Persistence of Feminism in CJ and the Lives of Students

Abstract

As feminist graduate students and board members for the Utah National Organization for Women (NOW), we have experienced first hand the lack of self-identified feminists in the criminal justice system. The hallmark of feminism is interrogating the intersectionalities of race, class and gender and nowhere in American society are these issues more pervasive than the criminal justice system. It is time for colleges of social and behavioral science to turn theory into practice and start producing criminal justice revolutionaries. This paper explores the question: How do colleges of social and behavioral science make jobs in criminal justice appealing for feminist students? Utilizing criminal justice employment statistics, CSBS alumni employment records, and department advising materials from state universities and community colleges in NOW’s Southwest region (AZ, CA, HI, UT), we demonstrate the need for CSBS advising campaigns encouraging feminist graduates to choose careers in criminal justice.

Authors

• Kyl C. Myers, University of Utah

• Chelsea Kilpack, Westminster College