In Search of Gender in Historical Political Economy

Abstract

Abstract This chapter summarizes the quantitative literature on the origins and manifestations of women’s political and economic progress over the last two hundred years. It discusses key critical junctures that durably changed women’s economic roles, such as the Industrial Revolution, the introduction of the contraceptive pill, and large-scale conflict, as well as some of the institutionally imposed constraints on women’s social, economic, and political roles, and how these were overcome. To conclude, the chapter calls for more empirical evidence from underresearched areas and for a new and coherent theoretical paradigm that would not only account for the stubborn persistence of gender inequality but also incorporate the progress made by related disciplines on the understanding and definition of gender, masculinity, and intersectionality.