Women's labour in 19th and 20th centuries, Spain: Methodological Remarks

Abstract

This article deals with the work of women in 19th and 20th centuries, Spain from a
methodological and criticism of sources poin of view. A macroanalytical approach through
population censuses offers serious limitations, over and above the classical model for interpreting
female work in relation to the life cycle. However, municipal censuses, especially in the 20th
century, allow us to descend to more homogeneous and sociologically more significant subpopulations,
in order to analyse the work of women in the framework of training and the evolution of local
and regional labour markets, of family strategies of adaptation —both economic and demographic— and
of a specific culture of gender.