All the women interviewed for this book experienced being marginalized
and were eventually pushed out of their organizations for questioning pol-
icy, openly debating sensitive issues, disagreeing with the male hierarchy,
or objecting to unfair or sexist treatment. In short, they came to be labeled
"difficult" women. This chapter explains how each woman encountered
the patriarchy as she began to try to exercise power and influence in the
organization. Chapter 6 explores each woman's termination in detail and
demonstrates how equal opportunity initiatives and legal recourse do not
sufficiently threaten the patriarchy to change its underlying character.
Chapter 7 explores other contributing features of personality that had a
role in these women's terminations. Although male domination featured
predominantly in these cases, the women, through self-admission, were not
"political" as they moved up the career ladder. They were direct, confron-
tational, and unwilling to compromise what they called "their principles"
and what they perceived to be "right." Had they been more cautious and
not challenged the hierarchy directly, perhaps like Lesley's and Fiona's
manager, they may not have been made redundant. These men, unlike the
women studied here, seemed to instinctively know how far they could push
the hierarchy without risking their own positions.

Eight themes emerged from the experiences of these women as they
moved up the career ladder and began experiencing the patriarchy face to
face. The more strategic and important the role they held, the more these
women felt they were marginalized and made to feel that their contribu-
tions were undervalued and even rendered insignificant.

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