The twentieth century has witnessed rapid transformations in labour market structures in both developed and developing countries. The changes have been so dramatic that the work place in these countries is no longer a man’s preserve.

We use data from the 1981 and 1991 censuses of India to examine (a) sex ratios among infants aged under 2, (b) child mortality (q5) by sex, and (c) estimated period sex ratios at birth (SRB) calculated by reverse survival methods, to see whether bias against female children pers