La tasa de actividad femenina a mediados del siglo xix en Andalucía: el caso de Antequera

Abstract

This article studies the female labour force participation rates in a town of East Andalusia, Antequera, in the middle of the 19th century. Our data come from the 1857 census registers. We have composed a database including 27,184 inhabitants. Our analysis shows that the censuses underestimate the female labour force participation. We establish the impact of the demand factors: A local economy with a relatively stronger presence of the secondary and tertiary sector, especially the textile sector; and the supply factors: Life cycles, marital status, and number of children. This study concludes that the female activity rates are about 30%, and the 2 most important occupations are domestic service and textile industry. The local perspective shows that the demand factors have a strong influence.