Out of Prison, Out of Work: The Employment of Formerly Incarcerated Women in West Virginia

Brittany James*, Lana Aboushaar*, Jacqueline Bonar*, Judith D’Amato and Alejandra Roman*, Reed College of Media, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505

Field (Broad Category): Communications/Journalism (Human Engagement) 

Student’s Major: Public Relations 

Formerly incarcerated women in West Virginia are restricted by several barriers as soon as they are released from prison. Our findings are based on our primary research of qualitative data consisting of five in-depth interviews conducted with members of the business audience and relevant organizational experts. The interviews conducted by our team helped us narrow down some of the most important barriers and themes surrounding employment of formerly incarcerated women. One of the main barriers these women face are the background checks included in job applications and the gaps in their resumes. Online applications create a unique dilemma for formerly incarcerated women; due to filtering, business owners or hiring managers may never even see this woman’s resume. Another barrier these women face are the negative stigmas businesses and society attach to these women. This makes it harder for them to find and secure an interview and develop a personal connection with employers. In addition, we discovered a lot of business employers are unaware of the tax and loyalty benefits in hiring these women. Our goal is to find a way to help these women and educate employers with a mutually beneficial campaign. 

Funding: Women Behind Bars 

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: Other
WVU STCM 421