This thesis provides an empirical investigation of the employment status of Non-English-Speaking Background (NESB) and Australia-born women. The analysis adds to the work of Australian authors who have found that NESB women are underrepresented in occupations that have relatively high pay and congenial working conditions, and are over-represented amongst the unemployed. This study develops a definition of primary sector employment from the occupation categories in the 1996 Census, and uses the ANU2 occupational prestige scale and earnings data from the Census.