Mistresses of company capital: Female partners in multi-owner firms, Spain (1886–1936)

Abstract

Contrary to the impression put forth in the literature, Spanish women at the turn of the twentieth century played an active and visible role in the business sphere. Using a unique database containing microdata on the founders of Spanish multi-owner firms from 1886 to 1936, this study analyses the role of female owners and the legal structures that supported their participation in business. In that 50-year period, over 10% of newly registered firms had at least one female owner. Of those owners, 70% were widows. The majority of those women had management responsibilities in their firm. Multi-owner firms with at least one female owner display marked differences, in terms of capital, number of partners, family ties, and management, from those run solely by men.

KEYWORDS:

• Female firm owners
• multi-owner enterprises
• family ties
• empowerment

Acknowledgements

My deapest gratittude to Timothy Guinnane who read several drafts and his guidance improved notably the final article. The author is grateful for the comments received from Seven Agir, Cristina Borderías, Beatrice Craig, Eric Hilt, Amanda Gregg, Santiago López, Naomi Lamoreaux, Jerònia Pons, Jean-Laurent Rosenthal, Irina Troitskaia, and Galina Ulianova. The article also benefited from the suggestions received during the presentations at the 27th World Economic History Conference (Kyoto, 2015), Seminario Ramón Carande of University of Sevile (2016) and the European Social Science History Conference (Belfast, 2018); and the comments of three anonymous referees and the editor. Liability for errors is limited to the author.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 A significant number of studies are under the umbrella of international guidelines of research: Borderías (2013); Hernández (2012); Humphries & Sarasúa (2012); Muñoz (2012); Pérez-Fuentes (2012).

2 In Spain, women were granted access to higher education in 1910. In the academic year 1927–1928, 4.2% of all students enrolled in university were women. Around the same time, only a quarter of all pupils in secondary education were female (Capel 1986).

3 For a review of the legal form of firm as well as its legal origins: La Porta et al. (2008); Lamoreaux (2016); Musacchio & Turner (2013).

4 For a pioneering study on the determinants of entrepreneurship in Spain, which concludes – among other things – that the progression of higher education had a positive impact on the entrepreneurship, see Valdaliso, 2005; Tortella & Quiroga, 2013. For the guidelines of the debate on the lack of Spanish entrepreneurship has always referred (implicity) to men, see Gálvez & Fernández (2007).

5 The term ‘private limited liability company,’ was adopted by Guinnane et al. to refer to enterprise forms such as the British Private Limited Company, the German Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, and the French Société à Responsabilité Limitée (Guinnane et al., 2007). The Spanish equivalent is ‘Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada’ (Martínez-Rodríguez, 2016).

6 This seminal work contains different regional studies, as well as an exhaustive discussion of the source.

7 Civil Code - Código Civil (1889) adopted as general rule the Castillian inheritance law, even though in the foral territory the testator had to bequeath in an only heir to keep indivisible the homestead (Ferrer-Alós, (2014).

8 In historical perspective, scholars also have warned against the relationship between gender and size of the firm (Burnette, 2008, p. 287).

9 Parnerships entered into a dissolution phase when one partner died, unless the partners had otherwise stipulated in the statutes (Art. 222.1º, Spanish Commercial Code - Código de Comercio 1885).

10 Book of Firms – Business Register of Cuenca, no. 4, 1889. A firm founded by a 47-year–old widow who is the mother of two sons aged 29 and 25. Please, notice that the references to firms registered in the Provincial Business Register will use the notation ‘Province, number of the firm, year of register’.

11 Book of Firms – Business Register of Alicante, no. 1015, 1912. The six brothers Botella Cardona owned a business and after the husband of Margarita Mateu Marzal passed away, she and her three children entered the family business. All the children were adults. The offspring of Margarita (and herself) contribute with capital to the firm, and none of them, except the eldest son, will work in the firm.

12 The firm named Manufactures Maner came from a previously regular partnership named Widow of the House Maner (Viuda de Casa Maner) (Book of Firms – Business Register of Barcelona, no. 18843, 1935).

13 If a firm lists more than one business activity, we classify it according to the first. CNAE 2009: Clasificación Nacional de Actividades Económicas 2009. https://www.cnae.com.es/

14 The analysis of kinship examines all the partners of the firm.

Additional information

Funding

Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness-National Programme of Research Aimed at the Challenges (HAR2013-42013-R). Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, State Investigation Agency, European Regional Development Fund (RTI2018-093884-B-I00).