This study was based on a survey of all detention officers in Maricopa County, Arizona. While jails have received increased attention in recent years, little has focused on the job satisfaction of detention officers. The experiences of detention officers and the climate in which they function differ significantly from those officers in State and Federal prisons. This study assessed the relative contribution of organizational climate variables and the level of job satisfaction among detention officers. Additional analyses tested the hypothesis that male and female officers were influenced in a similar manner by organizational climate variables. The magnitude of the influence varied by gender. Findings revealed that climate variables had a greater impact on job satisfaction then individual level variables. Also indicated was a more complicated relationship between job satisfaction and gender. The results indicated the need to consider the conditioning effect of gender on the relationship between organizational climate and job satisfaction in a highly sex-typed occupational setting such as a jail facility. Tables and references