This research addresses the knowledge gaps by examining i) the relationship between socio-demographic variables and the implementation status of affirmative action policy in bridging the gender gaps, ii) the successes of affirmative action policy, and iii) the challenges facing the implementation of affirmative action policy. To examine these objectives, this research draws on a sample of women (n= 113) from the Dabat district’s civil service sectors, using binary logistic regression, multiple linear regression, and the Chi-square test. The findings demonstrate that affirmative action policy did not close the gender wage, education, and administrative position discrepancies without the discrimination of demographic variables such as age, education, religion, and level of income. In contrast to other groups, unmarried women with diplomas and 5–10 years of work experience still encounter gender gaps due to high levels of discrimination. The implementation of affirmative action policy has also been unsuccessful in bringing psychological change in governmental institutions (97.3%, χ 2 = 75.4***, df = 1), which was higher than the predicted proportion of 40%. The effectiveness of affirmative action policies as a source of cognition, however, increased. Besides, affirmative action policy implementation in governmental institutions was also often hampered by a lack of follow-up training, the absence of a monitoring and evaluation process, and the lack of training for women and institution leaders. The findings of the current study have policy implications. They can help mitigate the difficulties of this policy in closing the gender gaps in governmental institutions by providing information for micro, meso, and macro-level intervention initiatives.
