Women and Guilds: Corporations and Female Labour Market Participation in Early Modern Holland

Abstract

Recently, historians have suggested that the economic role of Dutch women and the remarkable economic development of the Dutch Republic are related. Guilds are said to have played an important role. This article analyses the female admission to guilds in early modern Holland in order to assess how guilds affected female labour participation. A classification of guilds according to their admittance of women reveals significant variations in the extent of incorporation of women. Gender norms were not rigid and were applied with flexibility. Thus, guilds formed no obstacle for women in contributing to the flourishing economy of the Dutch Republic.