Summary:
Women entrepreneurs in the 19th century often started with less capital and focused on industries like clothing, millinery, and shoemaking.
They tended to hire more women than their male counterparts and paid them higher wages.
Increased female entrepreneurship can lead to more opportunities for women in the labor market.
Gozen's research highlights the importance of addressing systemic barriers that can limit women's participation in entrepreneurship.
This study underscores the vital and often overlooked contributions women have made to the economy throughout history.
Hidden Economic History: Lessons from Women Entrepreneurs of the 19th Century
There's a lot we don't know about women's roles in the 19th-century economy. Why? Because disaggregated economic data, like the kind we use to understand economic trends by race, gender, and age, is a relatively recent phenomenon.
Economist Ruveyda Nur Gozen is helping to fill in this gap. She's studied women entrepreneurs from the 1800s, using a clever approach: analyzing census records and inferring gender from business owner names.
Her research reveals some fascinating insights:
- Women entrepreneurs started with less capital. They were more likely to focus on industries like clothing, millinery, and shoemaking, and often started their businesses in the East and California.
- Women hired more women. And they paid them higher wages than their male counterparts, suggesting that increased female entrepreneurship can create more opportunities for women in the workforce.
Gozen's research also highlights the importance of addressing systemic barriers that can limit women's participation in entrepreneurship. Her work sheds light on the potential impact of female role models in inspiring more women to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.
Gozen's research is a valuable reminder that women have always played a vital role in the economy, and their contributions deserve to be recognized and understood.
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