Women managers: does positive action training make a difference?

Despite long‐standing legislation within the UK, women are still generally under‐represented at managerial level within organisations. One method of making a difference to this situation is the provision of positive action training and this paper summarises the arguments for and against positive action. Also describes a case study of a positive action training initiative for women managers in local government and assesses its potential effectiveness as a means of breaking through the “glass ceiling”. It explains how the training programme is structured and delivered and draws on relevant aspects of the findings of a research study undertaken to explore the opinions of the women students. Particular attention is given to their experience of the glass ceiling, opinions on perceived barriers to progression and on whether or not the programme has acted as a change agent. Some considerations for good practice are offered in conclusion.