Work in the lives of most Third World nation women is not a matter of equity and/or self-actualization. Rather, the changing economic roles and responsibilities of women make working a matter of economic survival. Despite the limitations of existing definitional and measurement problems related to data collection, regional data do exist which illustrate the key role of women in national development. Included among these constraints are the following: women's traditional position in the family, cultural prescriptions and job segregation, traditional educational and training patterns, a surplus of male labor, capital intensive development, and protectionist legislation. In addition, there exist a number of critical issues that combine to relegate the mainstream of women to low-status, low-paying jobs on the fringes of the economy. These include the assumed incompatibility of worker and mother roles and the marginalization of women workers through exploitative conditions. Both international and national policymakers must take measures to minimize constraints to women's employment, to end the effects of protectionist legislation, to relieve the double burden of women, and to minimize the marginalization of women workers. (MN)