Women in business : Gender and Commercial Space in Nineteenth-Century Glasgow

Abstract

Focusing on women entrepreneurs in a large British city we examine how women’s commercially listed businesses populated that city. Using commercial property rental records our study allows us to understand sectoral variation, the distribution of businesses across the city, and to assess both the absolute and relative contribution of women in the commercial environment. In addition to this, we examine census returns and trade directory information to understand the character of women business owners, and how they came to own their businesses. We find that women accounted for 12-15% of the sole trader business population, and that they paid in the region of 20% lower rent than equivalent sole trader men. We show differential patterns of women’s business activity with women represented most strongly in key sectors and locations associated with urban expansion. The majority of women's businesses were ‘start up’ enterprises, whereas businesses formerly extant under the name of a male relative (most often a spouse) and continued by widows, were typically larger.