The Impact of Female Employment on Male Wages and Careers: Evidence from the English Banking Industry, 1890-1941

Andrew Seltzer

No 6663, IZA Discussion Papers from IZA Network @ LISER

Abstract: The late 19th and early 20th century British labour market experienced an influx of female clerical workers. Employers argued that female employment increased opportunities for men to advance; however, most male clerks regarded this expansion of the labour supply as a threat to their pay and status. This paper examines the effects of female employment on male clerks using data from Williams Deacon's Bank covering a period 25 years prior and 25 years subsequent to the initial employment of women. It is shown that within position women were substitutes for men, although the degree of substitutability was less for older men than for juniors. In addition, the employment of women in routine positions allowed the Bank to expand its branch network, creating new higher-level positions, which were almost always filled by men.

Keywords: internal labour markets; spill over effects; female employment; clerical labour markets (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J3 N3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 38 pages
Date: 2012-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his, nep-hme, nep-lab and nep-lma
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
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Published - published in: Economic History Review, 66, 4 (2013), 1039–1062.

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