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Technological and Organizational Change and the Employment of Women: Early Twentieth-Century Evidence from the Ohio Manufacturing Sector

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  • Marina Adshade
  • Ian Keay

Abstract

Using a data set that tracks the employment and wages of male and female production and clerical workers in Ohio from 1914 to 1937, this study finds that among manufacturing establishments, female employment and real wages rose rapidly throughout this period, particularly within clerical occupations. There were also substantial increases in the proportion of women in Ohio's manufacturing workforce, and women's wage increases kept pace with those of men. After matching the employment and wage data to input and output data from Ohio's manufacturing census, the study estimates the parameters for industry group translog production functions. The estimates indicate that Ohio's manufacturers adopted new organizational structures and technologies that favored an increasingly intensive use of female clerical labor. The study performs a counterfactual exercise that illustrates the extent to which non-neutral technological and organizational changes over this period explain the observed increases in the employment and remuneration of female clerical workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Marina Adshade & Ian Keay, 2010. "Technological and Organizational Change and the Employment of Women: Early Twentieth-Century Evidence from the Ohio Manufacturing Sector," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 129-157.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:femeco:v:16:y:2010:i:1:p:129-157
    DOI: 10.1080/13545700903382711
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Marina Adshade, 2012. "Female labour force participation in an era of organizational and technological change," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 45(3), pages 1188-1219, August.
    2. Michaels, Guy, 2007. "The Division of Labour, Coordination, and the Demand for Information Processing," CEPR Discussion Papers 6358, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gray, Rowena, 2013. "Taking technology to task: The skill content of technological change in early twentieth century United States," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 351-367.
    2. Marina Adshade, 2012. "Female labour force participation in an era of organizational and technological change," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(3), pages 1188-1219, August.

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