An analysis of the occupations of free women in the antebellum USA

Barry Chiswick and RaeAnn Halenda Robinson ()
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RaeAnn Halenda Robinson: George Washington University

Cliometrica, 2024, vol. 18, issue 2, No 3, 363-403

Abstract: Abstract This paper analyzes the occupational status and distribution of free women in the antebellum USA. It considers both their reported and unreported (imputed) occupations, using the 1/100 microdata files from the 1860 Census of Population, the only Census that asked free women’s occupations while slavery was legal. After developing and testing the model based on economic and demographic variables used to explain whether a free woman has an occupation, analyses are conducted comparing their occupational distribution to free men, along with analyses among women by marital status, nativity, and the prevalence of slavery. This paper highlights the importance of including unreported family workers in discussions of free female labor market contributions, as their inclusion dramatically shifts the overall female labor force participation rate, as well as their occupational distribution.

Keywords: Women; Labor force participation; Occupational distribution; Unreported family workers; Enslaved workers; Immigrants; 1860 Census of Population (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J16 J21 J82 N31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s11698-023-00268-x

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