Data and code for: Historical Differences in Female-Owned Manufacturing Establishments: The United States, 1850--1880

We characterize female-owned manufacturing establishments
using newly digitized manuscripts from the US Census of Manufactures (1850,
1860, 1870, 1880). Female-owned
establishments were smaller than male-owned establishments and had lower
capital-to-output ratios, which could reflect more-constrained financial access
and other distortions. Female-owned
establishments employed more women and paid women higher wages, creating a
potential cycle between increased female business ownership and increased
female labor market participation.
Female-owned establishments concentrated in sub-industries like women's
clothing and millinery, which is associated with some but not all of these
differences. We also show how female
owners differed from other women in the Population Census.