The study attempts to evaluate the impact of different cropping patterns on men and women employment by farm size in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. The study is based on primary data collected from 50 small farms and 10 big farms and the data relate to the period 1989-90. The study showed that the ricerice- pulse cropping pattern used the maximum labour, both men and women, followed by sugarcane and rice-pulse-fallow. The results imply that increasing irrigation facility, consolidation of holdings and selection of cropping pattern and crop production practices will brighten employment prospects of both men and women in agriculture.