The purpose of this comparative case study is to gain understanding and to explain the organizational role of women working in organizations typical for the Communist period in Poland, in particular administrative functions and dysfunctions of management positions. For the study, we selected food cooperatives (i.e. grocery shops) typical for this time. The studied period covers the years 1974-1989 when cooperative shops were in operation, under the supervision of women managers who fulfilled that function when no management principles known nowadays were in place. We selected the method of a comparative and retrospective case study with the study area covering the work of two women in management positions in two cooperatives operating in the Communist era: one located in the countryside and the other in the city.