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The gender division of labour in early modern England

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  • Jane Whittle
  • Mark Hailwood

Abstract

This article presents new evidence of gendered work patterns in the pre‐industrial economy, providing an overview of women's work in early modern England. Evidence of 4,300 work tasks undertaken by particular women and men was collected from three types of court documents (coroners’ reports, church court depositions, and quarter sessions examinations) from five counties in south‐western England (Cornwall, Devon, Hampshire, Somerset, and Wiltshire) between 1500 and 1700. The findings show that women participated in all the main areas of the economy. However, different patterns of gendered work were identified in different parts of the economy: craft work showed a sharp division of labour and agriculture a flexible division of labour, while differences of gender were less pronounced in everyday commerce. Quantitative evidence of early modern housework and care work in England indicates that such work used less time and was less family‐based than is often assumed. Comparisons with gendered work patterns in early modern Germany and Sweden are drawn and show strong similarities to England. In conclusion it is argued that the gender division of labour cannot be explained by a single factor, as different influences were at play in different parts of the economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Jane Whittle & Mark Hailwood, 2020. "The gender division of labour in early modern England," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 73(1), pages 3-32, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ehsrev:v:73:y:2020:i:1:p:3-32
    DOI: 10.1111/ehr.12821
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    Cited by:

    1. Cheng Yang, 2022. "The occupational structure of late Imperial China, 1734–1898: A dissertation summary," Australian Economic History Review, Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(2), pages 176-190, July.
    2. Kumon, Yuzuru & Sakai, Kazuho, 2022. "Women's Wages and Empowerment : Pre-industrial Japan, 1600-1890," CEI Working Paper Series 2022-05, Center for Economic Institutions, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    3. Youssouf Merouani & Faustine Perrin, 2022. "Gender and the long-run development process. A survey of the literature [Rethinking age heaping: A cautionary tale from nineteenth-century Italy]," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 26(4), pages 612-641.
    4. Giuliana Freschi, 2023. "From the edge to the heart: female employment in 19th-century Italy," LEM Papers Series 2023/38, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    5. Humphries, Jane, 2023. "Respectable standards of living: the alternative lens of maintenance costs, Britain 1270-1860," Economic History Working Papers 119284, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    6. Cheng Yang, 2022. "A new estimate of Chinese male occupational structure during 1734–1898 by sector, sub‐sector pattern, and region," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(4), pages 1270-1313, November.
    7. Idit Ben-Or, 2022. "Women’s work on small change: privately issued currency by women in mid-17th century London," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-10, December.
    8. Palma, Nuno & Reis, Jaime & Rodrigues, Lisbeth, 2023. "Historical gender discrimination does not explain comparative Western European development: evidence from Portugal, 1300-1900," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    9. Alexander Wakelam, 2023. "Assessing female accountability in the long eighteenth century through debt imprisonment," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 76(2), pages 575-598, May.
    10. Sara Horrell, 2023. "Household consumption patterns and the consumer price index, England, 1260–1869," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 76(4), pages 1023-1050, November.
    11. Kumon, Yuzuru & Sakai, Kazuho, 2022. "Women’s Wages and Empowerment: Pre-industrial Japan, 1600-1890," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 18/2022, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    12. Benjamin Schneider, 2023. "Technological unemployment in the British industrial revolution: the destruction of hand spinning," Oxford Economic and Social History Working Papers _207, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.

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