Although wage labour opportunities are scarce for both mean andrnwomen in Ethiopia, female participation rates remain lower than.rnmale participation rates and females are dis-proportionatelyrnconcentrated in certain occupations of the labour force .rnIndeed, the participation of women in all aspects of therndevelopment process is very limited. However, little is knownrnabout the factors which are responsible for such a low level ofrnfemale employment in Ethiopia . To this end, this study wasrndesigned to examine the determinants of female labour forcernparticipation in urban Ethiopia using data from the 1994 UrbanrnHousehold Survey.rnThe following methodologies are employed in this study.rnDifferent estimation methods (descriptive statistics, the logitrnand the probit models) are used to estimate the coefficientsrnwith respect to age, education, fertility, migration statusrnmarital status, and income of household head. It is found thatrnfemale lab our force participation is positively related to age,rneducation, and migration status , where as it was negativelyrnassociated with fertility, marital status , and income of thernhousehold head. Moreover, the analysis of the determinants ofrnFemale labour force participation which employs both log it andrnProbit models identifies age, fertility, maritalrnstatus, migration status and education as the most importantrnFactors responsible for the low level of female participationrnIn the work force in urban Ethiopia.rnrnBased on the findings, the study recommends that extensivernFamily planning programmers are necessary in. order to increasernthe educational status of women by releasing women fromrnHousehold responsibilities associated with child bearing.