ABSTRACT
This article is concerned with the status of theories about long-run changes in women’s economic roles produced by capitalist industrialisation. Specifically, it addresses a commonly-held thesis that women are progressively marginalised from production in this process, particularly in developing countries. The article discusses the methodological problems involved in verifying this thesis, the theoretical ambiguities which are revealed by the attempt at verification and, ultimately, the feasibility and desirability of establishing general theories about the long-run position of women under dependent capitalism.
