GENDER COMPETITION AND THE PRESERVATION OF COMMUNITY IN THE ALLOCATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS IN SMALL RURAL TOWNS IN MONTANA - A RESEARCH NOTE

Assignment of administrative positions in a sample of rural towns is d emonstrated to be significantly associated with gender. Most civil adm inistrators are women, while most legal and educational administrators are men. The difference indicates structural assignment of positions by gender. Gender and administrative position are demonstrated to have zero-order correlations with perceptions of two important behaviors f or community: migration and social problems. The characteristics of th e occupation and of the administrators are qualitatively different. Th e data are compiled from interviews with seventy administrators in fiv e pairs of small towns in Montana, ranging in size from about 200 to a pproximately 7,000 residents. Each pair contains one agricultural and one scenic recreational town. Comparatively, more women were employed in agricultural towns. Many rural women who become administrators, par ticularly long-term administrators, may be selected for reasons that h elp preserve the community by providing opportunities for themselves a nd their families.