PIP: Historically, the women of Africa have been differentially integrated into the world economic system, serving primarily as a labor reserve and a mainstay for the subsistence and reproductive sectors. If and when necessary, female proletarianization can come into effect. African women, by virtue of their strategic role in traditional food systems, have acquired certain skills compatible with labor intensive food processing industries. Consequently, in some countries they have been involved in the handling, processing, and packing of food. In many 3rd world nations regulations protecting minimum wage levels do not exist and collective bargaining activities are not strongly in force. Economic hardship and the desperate need to survive can lead some groups to accept even lower wages. Consequently, although the employment of women at lower wages violates the principle of equal pay for equal work, agroindustries with monopolies can deliberately and with impunity hire women at lower wages than men. In general, when women are hired in industries the nature of their employment is precarious, frequently being of a casual and seasonal nature and in greatest demand during peak periods. In an effort to understand the implications of industrialization for African women a global perspective is necessary, for at present the incorporation of the African women in direct industrialization is minimal. Racism has played an important role in the exploitation of the African continent, and no serious study of class and gender inequality in Africa can overlook that important fact. Numerous studies have shown how industry perpetuates the sexual division of labor. Even in the industrialized nations, women often have held the least paid and most precarious jobs in industry. Women's vulnerability is further worsened by several factors, the most obvious being their reproductive capabilities. In addition to being more vulnerable to industrial hazards, their employment can be truncated by pregnancy. Alternative development begins with analysis, and this process has already begun under the intellectual leadership of 3rd world scholars from the industrialized countries. Alternative development must question assumptions upon which many of the earlier analyses and solutions have been based. An alternative model must seriously question the emphasis by international agencies and governments on female labor force participation as an indicator of improvement in women's status and economic position. The emphasis must be on the quality rather than the quantity of female participation, for women can participate in the labor force as exploited wage laborers. An alternative strategy needs to also emphasize parity. Looking inward, development plans should emphasize internal economic development rather than external trade. An alternative development will have to proceed on several fronts simultaneously each well planned, executed, and anticipating the next stage of development.