Gender mainstreaming and the process of gender proofing policies have been identified as integral to European and national policy on the promotion of gender equality. Policies are gender proofed on the basis of an analysis of existing statistics and scientific data. Although there are a number of recent research studies on gender balance in education management in Ireland, the vocational sector has remained somewhat peripheral to these debates. This has happened in a period of continued growth in the vocational sector and a recognition of its importance in terms of national economic development. This paucity of research in the Irish vocational sector is also true in an international context. In the absence of such data, the potential exists to make incorrect assumptions and to over rely on perception and speculation. This paper presents the findings of a study that attempts to address this paucity of research in relation to gender balance in management in the Irish vocational sector. It reviews statistics established on gender balance in management in the Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) and Institute of Technology (IoT) sectors in the Irish education system. It assesses the extent to which the increasing feminisation in the Irish primary and second level systems is reflected in both the PLC and IoT sectors, and examines to what degree this feminisation is being reflected at senior, middle and lower management grades. In addition to examining gender balance at management grades, it analyses data on the disciplines in which men and women work within the Irish vocational sector. This allows an assessment to be made regarding the persistence of the delineation of work as men's work and women's work. The findings indicate a continuation of patterns of vertical and horizontal segregation evident elsewhere in the Irish education system.