A study examined two models--increased opportunity and affirmative action--as proposed solutions to sex inequities in wage and occupational distribution. The Increased Opportunity Model assumes that increased economic opportunities will disproportionately benefit women and minorities because of their relative position in the labor force. The Affirmative Action Model contends that the problem of inequity cannot be solved with increased opportunities in the labor market because the inequities are creations of that market. To compare the validity of the two models, researchers collected data pertaining to the yearly income, occupation, place of residence, and sex of 1,560 members of the labor force in East St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. Next, they compared this employment data with similar data for the State of Louisiana. Based on their comparisons, the researchers concluded that increased opportunity will not, in and of itself, reduce sex inequities. Therefore, they called for further research to delineate the impediments to increased female labor force participation in order to pinpoint effectively appropriate affirmative action strategies. (MN)