Women’s Work in the Franche-Compté Region under the Habsburgs (1493-1678)
The large number of archives concerning the reign of the Habsburgs in
the Franche-Comté offers a rare insight into the arduousness and vulnerability
of women’s employment at the time, as well as into the imbalance that existed
between male and female labour. The vulnerability of women’s (and girls’)
employment can be found in many economic sectors and arises from a variety
of factors: – uncertainty around the name: unlike men, women are not mentioned
according to their names and surnames; moreover they are often given
a nickname. Is this a sign of familiarity or a lack of consideration? – unqualified
labour: they perform basic labouring tasks for builders and roofers; – uncertainty
regarding job tenure: job duration can be measured on fortification
building sites in most towns and cities; – finally, fragility of feminised jobs: for
example, women working in bakeries and in the tripe trade. As women were
forced to give up certain jobs in the 17th century, data on female hard labour
becomes rare or even non-existent.