The phrase affirmative action (AA) has been in use in Australia for two decades, mainly in the context of improving the profile of women in the workplace. Federal legislation was enacted in 1986 but the formalistic focus on the preparation of plans, numerosity and the lodgment of reports has deflected attention away from the elusive substance of AA. The procedural veil will be lifted to focus more closely on the nature of the substance, with particular regard to managerial positions. It will be argued that the construction of femininity and masculinity, through what are termed ‘the fictive feminine’ and ‘the imagined masculine’, is resistant to structural change. However, the adoption of co-operative workplace practices, as advocated by a recent influential Australian Government report, does have the potential to challenge the gender polarity.
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