Female Entrepreneurship in Nineteenth-Century England

"Aston challenges and reshapes the on-going debate concerning social status, economic opportunity, and gender roles in nineteenth-century society. Sources include trade directories, census returns, probate records, newspapers, advertisements, and photographs are analysed and linked to demonstrate conclusively that women in nineteenth-century England were far more prevalent in business than has previously been acknowledged. Moreover, women were able to establish and expand their businesses far beyond the scope of intergenerational caretakers in sectors of the economy traditionally viewed as unfeminine, and acquire the assets and possessions that were necessary to secure middle-class status. These women serve as a powerful reminder that the middle-class women's retreat from economic activity during the nineteenth-century, so often accepted as axiomatic, was not the case. In fact, women continued to act as autonomous and independent entrepreneurs, and used business ownership as a platform to participate in the economic, philanthropic, and political public sphere."--

Year

2016

Language

English

Publisher

Springer International Publishing AG

Editions

4

Pages

257

ISBN

9783319308791

Data source: Wikidata