Mapping Women's Labour History - 18th Century till 21st Century France

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Before the 20th century, the economic contributions of women remained largely concealed. Accounts of economic growth and structural shifts seldom addressed women's work and conditions. Industrialization narratives in economic history predominantly revolved around male workers, their wages, and male-breadwinner families. However, economists like Goldin, Humphries, and Horrell have recently rectified this oversight by shedding light on women's roles (Burnette, 1997; Goldin & Sokoloff, 1982; Horrell & Humphries, 1995; Humphries & Schneider, 2019; Sarasua, 2019). Through long-term participation and wage analyses, they quantified the impact of women on households and macroeconomic development. Yet, research gaps persist, particularly outside the "Anglo-Saxon world." Sarasua's 2019 study on 18th-century Spain exemplifies the value of expanding research into new contexts, revealing a larger industrial sector and challenging prevailing narratives.France, like Spain, followed a distinct growth trajectory from Britain and the United States. Despite its proximity to England, France remained agrarian until the 19th century, when factories emerged. Women significantly contributed to proto-industrial labor-intensive manufacturing, as noted by Goldin & Sokoloff (1982) and Humphries & Schneider (2019). Investigating women's role in French industrialization could yield insights. Examining different sectors and economic structures could reveal how they affected women's participation.For my master's thesis, I constructed a novel panel tracking industry-level labor and wages across the 19th century from three national manufacturing censuses. This data opens up avenues to study previously unexplored dynamic processes and gender relations in the labor market on a granular level. In my master's thesis, I focused on heterogeneity in industry and gender labor share participation. I found that women constituted a substantial manufacturing workforce, particularly in early industrializing industries. As manufacturing solidified, women's share decreased due to the rise of "male-dominated" branches. Female labor demand rose where they were prevalent, boosting their wages compared to men's.Building on this initial exploration, my future PhD project aims to extend the series both forward and backward, back into the 18th century and into the present day. France is an intriguing setting for such a long-term exploration. Compared to its direct neighbors, France has maintained a persistently high female participation rate. A long-term panel exploration would examine to what extent this is a persistence effect from earlier centuries. Recent literature, such as Victor Gay's work on World War I's enduring impact on female labor force participation, implies a link between early industrialization and modern structures of women's work. I aim to uncover these connections, tracing the historical roots of women's work and wages.