This article deals with womem who are in charge of key positions in a traditionally male organization, the Civil Police dof Salvador. The article focuses on the way women see themselves: the self-perception of their role; perceptions which they have of the role played by male professionals and the problems concerned to the position which go beyond the professional arena and influence their relationships whith relatives. The main goal of this article is to develop patterns of management acknowledged by women themselves. Emphasis is put on difficulties and barriers to the personal and pofessional women self-reliancein the way put forward by Françoise Belle (1993) who has seen organizations as a key locus to discuss the gender issue, since any organization is a representation of the macro social and cultural system.