Structure, culture and passivity: a case study of women in a semi-state organization

Much of the Irish semi-state sector is still characterized by permanent employment within male-dominated hierarchical structures. This case study focuses on a rural semi-state organization with a statutory obligation as regards the economic, social and cultural development of a particular geographical area. Documentary material showed that it was highly skewed in gender terms, with men holding the overwhelming majority (93 per cent) of the higher positions, and women the overwhelming majority (89 per cent) of the lower positions. Such patterns are by no means atypical as regards state and semi-state structures. Drawing on qualitative material from taped focus group sessions with roughly 80 per cent of the women employed in this organization, the article illustrates the multifaceted ways (structural, cultural and individual) in which women's position at the lower levels of that organization was maintained.