Not only has the overall participation of women in the labor force increased dramatically since World War II, but the internal character of the female labor force is changing. The greatest increases have been among married women and young mothers, groups which thirty-five years ago represented the lowest participation groups. Women workers have a low average income and cluster in a fairly limited number of traditionally women's fields. During the 1960s these shifts occurred: women entered male fields and they made significant gains in some predominantly male professions. Problematic is the emphasis in the research literature on well-educated, professional women--and not on women working in blue-collar and service occupations. A three-year study conducted extensive case studies of 120 women in working-class, largely nontraditional, jobs in three major California cities. Results indicated that paid employment was significant to interviewed women because of economic benefits, escape, outside communication and friendship, challenge and personal satisfaction, and need for achievement and recognition. Women in the sample who were married and/or raising children appeared to be living with contradictory attitudes and practices when it came to combining employment and family roles. Many took responsibility for a wide range of household activities in addition to full-time employment. (YLB)