Introduction: In spite of equal contribution of female and male faculty members to knowledge and expertise production, there is no equal access to managerial posts. The purpose of this study was to determine the present attitudes of female faculty towards the barriers to their promotion to managerial posts in ShahidSadoughi University of Medical Sciences (SSUMS ).

  Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on female faculty in (SSUMS) in 2011. A standard questionnaire consisting of demographic questions and 37 questions about the barriers to the promotion of female faculty to managerial posts was used.

  Results: Overall 28% of women in this study had managerial positions at different levels. Among them, 44.4% were head of the departments. There was a significant correlation between managerial posts and job experience (p<0.05). Incorrect organizational structure, organizational culture and social factors were the main barriers to the promotion of women to managerial posts, however individual factors appeared to play no role in this regard.

  Conclusions: A few female faculties of (SSUMS) were engaged in managerial positions which might be due to incorrect organizational structure and social factors. The findings presented in this paper suggest that modification of promotion instructions based on competence and changes in organizational structure and culture may increase the engagement of female faculty in managerial posts.

  Key Words : Academic Women, Promotion, Yazd University of Medical Sciences, Managerial Posts