Women who seek further education and the formal credentials it provides often have acquired valuable knowledge and work experience while performing various unpaid work in their homes and communities. Awarding college credit and recognition for women's nonpaid work is a measure of social justice and equity. The three major ways to evaluate and credit prior learning are tests, credit recommendation for courses offered by business or community groups, and individualized assessment. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages; however, the portfolio method, which was developed for assessment of prior incidental learning, offers the greatest flexibility. Integration of practical work into college studies can be traced to the end of the 19th century; however, as late as the mid-1970s, assessment of prior learning focused on learning from paid work experience. In 1984, work began in the United States to identify the academically accreditable skills and knowledge that women acquire from their unpaid work experience as homemakers and volunteers. Several studies and projects to develop models for such accreditation have been implemented in both Canada and the United States. Similar efforts have been undertaken in Europe and in the Pacific as well. Twenty-five references conclude the paper. (MN)