Criminal Stigma, Race, Gender, and Employment: An Expanded Assessment of the Consequences of Imprisonment for Employment

The National Institute of Justice funded this three-year study designed to examine the effects of race and gender on employment outcomes for individuals with a criminal record. Past studies have examined the impact of incarceration on employment outcomes, consistently showing that individuals with a criminal record fare worse in the job market than those without a criminal record and returning Caucasians face less stigma than African-Americans. The authors note, however, a gap in the literature about the roles gender and being from another ethnic group play on employment prospects after incarceration. They found that returning African-Americans and Hispanics had more difficulty connecting with the job market than Caucasians, but that a criminal record for all races decreased the likelihood of employment.