FORMAL OPPORTUNITY, INFORMAL BARRIERS - BLACK-WOMEN MANAGERS WITHIN ALOCAL-AUTHORITY

This article examines the equal opportunities policies of a local auth ority which were intended to improve the representation of black women managers. It reports the types of initiatives and proportions of blac k women employed in different grades over time; and discusses the orga nisational context, contrasting the views of personnel and line manage rs, and EO specialists, with those of black women who had achieved sen ior positions. These latter accounts illustrated how inequalities were sustained despite, and at times in articulation with, an EO policy wh ich was relatively successful in formal terms. Findings are discussed with reference to two criticisms made of EO policies: inadequate imple mentation, and a failure to redress the effects of social inequalities or challenge white, male work norms. The article suggests that increa sing formal controls or the range of initiatives is insufficient: bett er ways of understanding and challenging the role of organisational st ructures, cultures and politics in sustaining inequality is needed.