Women and labor participation in Barcelona City Council, 1925-1950.

Authors

Abstract

The growing complexity of state activities favoured the expansion of its administrative departments, and the expansion of services related to education and care, generating new job opportunities for urban women in a context of lower marriage rates and the emergence of the New Woman. The aim of this article is to examine the mass incorporation of women into the Barcelona City Council throughout three political regimes: Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship, the Second Republic and Franco’s regime, from a demographic perspective. This institution, fundamental for its wide range of competencies, experienced a constant increase in the number of female civil servants, a trend only interrupted by Franco’s purge in 1939. The creation of new labour niches, mainly in the administrative corps, boosted this trend, mirroring what happened in European administrations. However, while the Second Republic made efforts toward a certain professional equality, these advances were curtailed under Franco, who imposed restrictive measures like the marriage bar, a practice unprecedented in the history of city administration in Barcelona.

Keywords

Public Administration, Women's participation, Civil service ladder-rank, Marriage bar, Purging of civil servants

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Author Biographies

Marc Gil Garrusta, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

Marc Gil Garrusta is a lecturer at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). His research career focuses on the contemporary history of Catalonia and Spain, especially on the political history of the Franco regime and the contemporary history of Barcelona and its City Council.

Publications:

1) Gil Garrusta, Marc, “La implosió: guerra i postguerra, 1936-1951. Lluita, revolució, derrota i primer franquisme.” en Joan Roca Albert (dir.), Atles MUHBA d’història de Barcelona, Barcelona, Ajuntament de Barcelona, 2023, pp. 342-357.

2) Gil Garrusta, Marc; Subirana Ortín, Jaume, “Francoist purging of nomenclature in Barcelona: Communion, wishes and beliefs”, International Journal of Iberian Studies, 34 (2021),pp. 253-274.

3) Amat Fusté, Jordi ; Gil Garrusta, Marc, “Poder cultural i institucional del franquisme a Barcelona” en Bernat Puigdollers, Aleix Catasús (dirs.), Art i cultura de postguerra. Barcelona 1939-1962, Barcelona, Àmbit Serveis Editorials, 2018.

4) Gil Garrusta, Marc, Barcelona al servei del Nuevo Estado. Depuració a l’Ajuntament durant el primer franquisme, Vic, Eumo Editorial, 2017.

Joana Maria Pujadas-Mora, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

Joana Maria Pujadas-Mora is an Associate Professor of Arts and Humanities Studies at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). His research career focuses on modern and contemporary history, especially social history, historical demography and economic history.

Her publications from the last ten years include:

1) Pujadas-Mora, J.M. (2024). "What was Killing Babies in Palma, Spain? Analysing Infant Mortality Patterns Using Individual-Level Cause of Death Data, 1836-1930". Historical Life Course Studies. Q1-SJR. íi: 0,58 (in press)

2) Pujadas-Mora, J.M.; Brea-Martinez, G. (2024). "Towards More Horizontality in families? Sibling Associations in Socioeconomic Status in the Barcelona Area, 16th-19thCenturies". Population Studies – A Journal of Demography. Q1-SJR. íi: 1,009 (in press)

3) Pujadas-Mora, J.M.; Brea-Martinez, G.; Cabré, A. (2024), "Which did most to encourage secularisation: politics, economy or family? Shifting seasonality of marriages in the Barcelona Area, 1715-1880. Continuity and Change".Q2-SJR. íi: 0,134 (in press)

4) Pujadas-Mora, J.M.; Pérez-Artés, M.C. (2023). "Numeracy and Consistency in Age declarations: a case study on 19th and 20th century Catalonia". Cliometrica 10.1007/s11698-023-00277-w. Q1-SJR. íi: 0,85

5) Jover-Avellà, G.; Pujadas-Mora, J.M. (2020) "Mercado de trabajo, género yespecialización oleícola: Mallorca a mediados del siglo XVII", Revista de Historia Agraria, 80, 37-69. Q1 - SJR. íi: 0,21.

 

Published

2024-12-21

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