Abstract
Gender issues are now, and probably will continue to dominate the agenda of a number of feminist organizations and lobby groups. One issue, equal representation of women in the work place has been particularly prominent in many discussions. What has emerged from these discussions is that for equal representation to become a reality there must be an accompanying change of “consciousness.” In other words, there must be a change in culture. This article proposes, however, that more than a change in culture is required. Rather, institutional and structural re-organization must accompany cultural changes. It is the purpose of this article to demonstrate that it is difficult for women to attain higher level public service positions in small ex-colonial societies such as Trinidad and Tobago because of the structures and systems that were introduced under the British administration. The article proposes to show that because the structures and culture of the public service has not changed significantly over the years, women will continue to be accorded secondary level positions into the foreseeable future. It accordingly suggests that equal representation can only be attained if affirmative action plans are introduced.
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