46 SOCIAL scife^nst to possess special skills (nimble fingers and all that) or because the job is thought appropriate because they are extensions of women's work ? Unfortunately these very special skills do not entitle them to any special rewards. The present paper, presented from a field study done in Bombay argues that these hypotheses are not valid for the garment industry. While there may be some truth in the 'predisposition' hypothesis, there is little basis for the claim of gender-defined jobs. The greater part of the influence, we contend, comes from the economic pressures of the industry and women's situation in the industry is merely an accentuated version of the general position of the semi-proletarian character of the labour force (male and female) in informal sectors of our economy. The Bombay study is compared with U. Kalpagam's (1980-Madras) and Rukmini Rao and Sahba Hussain's (1983-Delhi). These two studies also examined the position of women workers in the garment industry. Kalpagam emphasized the differences between the factory and nonfactory sectors and the condition of all workers under different production arrangements; Rukmini Rao-Sahba Hussain go into a great deal of detail on the position of women workers in particular and emphasize the international influences with an implied centre-periphery model. The Bombay study combines both aspects but contends that the international model is less applicable in the Indian case although its presence is not discounted. Rationale for Female Employment The major part of the analysis is based on the findings of the study in Bombay but parallels and contrasts are noticed at various points. There are some striking regional differences which are worth our attention as a safeguard against facile generalizations. They also demonstrate how cultural differences modify economic processes. Twenty units were selected for study from the listing of garment units in the Economic Survey 1977, made available by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics. The basis of selection was the size of employment as both turnover and capital outlay figures were incomplete, unreali-able or unavailable in many cases. Three size classes were chosen : units with workers 0-10 ; 11-50 ; and 57 and above. The total number of units in Greater Bombay according to the 1977 Survey was 2369. This included the factory and non-factory sectors and registered as well as unregistered units. The total number of workers was 24,202 of which 3520 were women. According to factory returns, there were 274 registered factories in 1977. In 1981 it was 487 with a total employment of 12,294 workers of whom 3427 were women. In the sample selected, 16 turned out to be registered factories and 4 were "shops". Fifty women workers were interviewed in depth at home and the managements of 16 units were also interviewed. Besides, all available secondary data were utilized and a few men workers were also interviewed. Out of the 2369 units recorded in the 1977 Economic Survey in Bombay, as many as 2023 units (i.e., 85.4