Public Services and Women’s Work in Early Modern Dutch Towns

Abstract

This article analyzes the influence of professionalization and the broader process of bureaucratization on female labor participation in the public service sector in early modern towns in the Dutch province of Holland. Contrary to suggestions in other literature, women were found in a broad range of public offices, and developments in this sector did not lead to the exclusion of women in the course of the early modern period. Women were mainly employed in the lowest level jobs in the sector, and their work was barely affected by professionalization. Furthermore, the strong division of labor along gender lines prevented the exclusion of women. Specialization and diversification of work resulted, instead, in an expansion of employment opportunities, not only for men but also for women.