As part of a study of the advancement and support of women in administrative positions at institutions of higher education in North Carolina, administrators at the state's community colleges were surveyed in 1996 to determine their characteristics, satisfaction with their careers, and experiences with respect to obstacles and mentors. Surveys were sent to 1,140 administrators, including all 58 presidents, all 258 senior administrators, and samples of managers and non-teaching professionals. Study results, based on an employee database maintained by the state system and responses from 50.4% (n=575) of the employees surveyed, included the following: (1) as of October 1996, 2 of the 58 college presidents and 31.3% of 243 senior administrators were women; (2) among survey respondents, 86% of the women and 85% of the men were Caucasian; (3) 90% of the men were married at the time of the survey, compared to 70% of the women; (4) both male and female respondents were satisfied with their positions, with both groups citing the challenge as the most significant source of job satisfaction; (5) women were more likely than men to cite salary and opportunities for advancement as sources of dissatisfaction; and (6) 52.2% of the women agreed that gender was a barrier to career advancement, while 80% of the men disagreed. The survey instrument is appended. (BCY)