Gender v typicky mužském pracovním prostředí. Případová studie prostředí vězenské služby

This thesis focuses on the role of gender in the typically male-dominated work environment of the Czech Republic’s Prison Service. Its main objective is to explore how gender influences professional performance, interpersonal relationships, and the social status of staff members within this hierarchical institution. The research is designed as a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with eight male and female officers employed in men’s prisons across the Czech Republic. The collected data were analyzed using thematic and subsequently discursive analysis. The results of the thematic analysis show that gender fundamentally influences interactions with both inmates and colleagues within the work group, where women tend to use soft power to build respect, while men place greater emphasis on physical strength and directive authority. The subsequent discursive analysis identified three repertoire sets that reveal the mechanisms through which ideas about masculinity and femininity are constructed and reproduced in this environment. The conclusion of the study confirms that female gender remains a limiting factor for full integration, and female members face the necessity of constantly proving their professional competence due to persistent stereotypes within work teams as well as existing legislative and institutional barriers that limit their professional development.