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

Abstract

What role did women play during industrialization? Interpretations of this key period of our history have been largely based on analyses of male work. In this paper, we offer 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, we analyse labour-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). We then connect the gender pay gaps with life expectancy indicators. Our results suggest that women's contribution to household income might have favoured the female life-expectancy advantage, an effect that seems to have been channelled 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.

Understanding correlates of infant mortality in Ethiopia using 2019 Ethiopian mini demographic and health survey data

“…They may find it simple to use electric washing machines and get drinking and sanitary water, which could enhance their health and allow them to land better employment and devote more money to their kids’ health 5 , 6 . Infant mortality drops considerably with a rise in household income 7 . The main contributing factor to the high infant mortality rate in developing countries is a lack of mother education 8 , and improving maternal literacy levels may help reduce infant mortality rates 9 .…”

Son Preference, Gender Discrimination, and Missing Girls in Rural Spain, 1750–1950

“…Part of the decline in infant and child mortality from the late nineteenth century onwards resulted from gradual changes in how parents treated their sons and daughters as the trade-off between child-rearing costs and benefits evolved. In this regard, the improvement in female labor market opportunities and the status of girls reduced the relative mortality rates of female infants and girls in Italy and Spain during the late-nineteenth and early twentieth century (Pinnelli and Mancini 1997;Beneito and García-Gómez 2019). NOTE: Dark dots refer to the localities studied here (except Zaragoza, the provincial capital) and the corresponding shaded areas to their municipal boundaries.…”