ABSTRACT
Georgia Duerst-Lahti has argued that the organizational culture of a bureaucracy or department will influence the attitudes and behaviors of the members of that organization, and thus the relative power and influence of women within the organization. Historical forces refer to past organizational policies, and in particular to the ways in which the policies have made the organization into a favorable or unfavorable environment for women. Thus in examining the historical forces, or past organizational policies, one must conclude that the State Department has a history of attempting to exclude women. The number of men and women in an organization is significant in itself, but it also over time affects the organizational culture and gender power relations, since organizational power is assumed to be the product of proportional representation. Token women have a greater probability of being classified according to the feminine gender stereotypes, whether or not their personal characteristics are consistent with the particular stereotype.
