Forum Moderators: open
Yes. Editors can edit in categories beneath the one they are listed in, and usually do.
For example, if I am accepted as an editor of Category/Subcategory/LowerCategory/, I can edit in that category only. If I am accepted to edit the parent category - Category/Subcategory/, I will probably resign LowerCategory since I can edit there anyhow.
The short of it is that any editor of a category above the one that you're concerned with can edit there, as can any editall or meta editor. We try to get to the unreviewed sites as quickly as we can, and I think that most categories have a fairly short turnaround.
If it's been a month or more and your site hasn't been reviewed, contact (politely) the editor of the category above it (or another higher level editor of the same category tree) and ask about it.