To better understand the complexity of organizational life as a cultural system whose members share particular values, attitudes, and ways of knowing, and to understand the role of women in this culture, a study was conducted using female managers at 12 high technology companies in California's "Silicon Valley." Informants were selected on the basis of accessibility with an aim toward including a cross section of employment areas, company size, age, and product or service. Other data were collected from observers of Silicon Valley, executive recruiters, and written sources. Findings indicated that the high technology industry has its own culture with corresponding values and attitudes. It is fast paced, action oriented, lucrative monetarily, and demanding of extreme time commitments. Youth and innovation were also found to be highly valued. Results suggest that high technology is more open to women because of the meritocracy, supply and demand ratio of talent, and the newness of the industry. Drawbacks discovered include the importance of a technical degree, the male bias in top management, and burn out. (CRH)