Women in the civil service: has South Africa got the balance right?

This paper examines gender related issues within the public service, specifically the civil service, focusing on what is often rendered to as the Senior Management Service (SMS). At the heart of the debate is an assessment of how women experience marginalisation and uncertainty, given the government's affirmative action policy, the difficulties of investigating especially gender related issues inside government departments and what we already know about gender imbalances within civil service and the attempts to redress these. Finally, the paper examines the views of selected women inside government departments on these issues.