Selected data from the Southern Regional S-44 Project entitled "Factors in the Adjustment of Families and Individuals in Low-Income Rural Areas" were analyzed to determine the work patterns of women in low-income rural areas. Objectives of the study were to describe the labor force experience of women, to report the attitudes of employed women toward gainful employment, and to study the patterns of labor force participation as related to marital status, stages of the family life cycle, age, education, and level of living. The sample population included 1,781 women from 30 counties in 7 southern states. These rural women were found to be less educated, slightly older, and willing to work for relatively low wages when compared to all working women in the nation. The working women studied indicated favorable attitudes toward their work situation. One of the basic causes of the persistence of low income in rural areas was determined to be the subcultural orientation toward low aspiration and satisfaction with the present situation. (JH)