Gender Gaps in Wages and Mortality Rates During Industrialization: The Case of Alcoy, Spain, 1860–1914

Pilar Beneito and José J. Garcia-Gómez

Feminist Economics, 2022, vol. 28, issue 1, 114-141

Abstract: What role did women play during industrialization? Interpretations of this key period of history have been largely based on analyses of men’s work. This paper offers evidence of the effects of women’s involvement in the industrialization process that took place in Alcoy, Spain, over the period 1860–1914. Using data drawn from historical sources, the study analyzes labor force participation rates and wage series for women and men in the textile industry and three other sectors of activity (education, health, and low-skill services). The paper then connects the gender pay gaps with life expectancy indicators. Results suggest that women’s contribution to household income might have favored the female life-expectancy advantage, an effect that seems to have been channeled through a reduction in the relative mortality rates of female infants and girls, at the expense of a higher mortality rate of working-age women.HIGHLIGHTS Analyzing women’s early labor market participation helps interpret current trends in women’s wages and life conditions.Gender wage gaps in 1860–1914 in Alcoy, Spain are representative of women’s earnings during industrialization.The research connects women’s earnings with gender differentials in life expectancy.Mortality rates of girls and elderly women decreased as compared to men’s rates.The opposite occurred to working-age women, who were exposed to poor working conditions.

Date: 2022
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Working Paper: Gender gaps in wages and mortality rates during industrialization: the case of Alcoy, Spain, 1860-1914 (2019)
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DOI: 10.1080/13545701.2021.1983190

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