The report examines women's status in 20 developing countries, based on World Fertility Survey (WFS) data. WFS data provide insight into women's educational attainment and employment participation. The countries included in this report (12 from Asia and the Pacific and 8 from Latin America and the Caribbean) are widely distributed geographically and reflect diverse social systems and structures. Results of a sample composed of ever-married (or ever-in-union) women between 15 and 49 years indicate that: educational attainment for women has improved substantially in most countries over the past 25 years; extreme differences still exist in illiteracy rates between men and women; many more men than women have attained secondary or higher levels of education; among the Asian/Pacific countries, the proportion of women who have never worked varies considerably, ranging from 85% in Bangladesh to 3% in Thailand. Despite lower levels of development (as measured by per capita gross national product and Physical Quality of Life Index), the percentage of women who are currently employed in many Asian/Pacific countries is higher than in Latin America and the Caribbean. Sixteen figures and 13 statistical tables are incorporated throughout the publication. (Author/AH)