Wives, Heiresses, Businesswomen

Historical case studies of women's changing roles in family businesses

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• Publisher: Böhlau Köln
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN:
  9783412528492
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9783412528508
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Modern History
• Index: History

In the public imagination, small and medium-sized family businesses have always been male-dominated organisations, with those headed by women regarded as barely noteworthy exceptions to the rule. These ideas and associations are far from telling the full story; the proportion of women among Germany's self-employed population remained above 20 per cent throughout the twentieth century. A surge of interest in female entrepreneurs among academic researchers and in the political and media spheres has resulted in increasing recognition of their achievements past and present. There nevertheless remains a persistent tendency to overlook the fact that women have always made a vital contribution to the success of family businesses, even where they did not directly handle these companies' business affairs.This volume presents new insights into the diverse roles of women in family businesses, as daughters, wives, mothers, widows and entrepreneurs. Eleven case studies drawn from a range of sectors and eras illuminate the significance of women's influence in family businesses throughout the history of commerce. Bringing together approaches from the history of business, gender, society and culture, the chapters explore women's multi-faceted roles within numerous enterprises in a new and enlightening depth.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• FOREWORD
• Kai Bosecker and Stefanie van de Kerkhof | INTRODUCTION
• Mechthild Isenmann | WOMEN IN ACTIVE ROLES IN BUSINESSES OF THE FOURTEENTH TO SIXTEENTH CENTURIES
• Hans Peterse | WOMEN IN TEXTILE BUSINESS-OWNING FAMILIES IN TWENTE IN THE NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES. Separate spheres, influential roles
• Kai Bosecker | WOMEN IN A TRANSNATIONAL FAMILY BUSINESS IN THE NINETEENTH AND EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY. The example of the Brenninkmeijers
• Sina Bohnen | IN THE BACKGROUND, THE INVISIBLE WOMAN? Women’s role(s) and options within family businesses: The example of the K.hler delicatessen, Dortmund, in the early twentieth century
• Mirjam Lober | THE SUCCESSION OF WOMEN TO THE MANAGEMENT OF FAMILY BUSINESSES. The example of Margarethe Krupp and her trusteeship (1902–1906) of the Krupp steel company
• Daniela Gastell | HELENE VIEWEG-BROCKHAUS AND ELSE DÜRR. Two examples of women in family businesses in the nineteenth- and twentieth-century German publishing trade
• Swen Steinberg | MOTHER TO THE WORKERS? Gender roles in Christian businesses in the nineteenth and early twentieth century
• Katrin Schreiter and Clara Piacenza | THE ART OF DEVELOPING CULTURAL CAPITAL IN ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE. Gabriele Henkel and the Henkel art collection
• Ulrike Laufer | ‘THE PROSPERITY AND HONOUR OF MY HOUSE’. The women of the Hirschland banking family of Essen, Germany
• Stefanie van de Kerkhof | ‘WITH ESPRIT AND CONFIDENCE OF FAITH’. How women’s roles and functions changed in the Rhenish silk industry. A case study of the Vereinigte Seidenwebereien AG corporation (Verseidag)
• Agnes Arndt | EFFICIENCY AND EMOTION. Paradigms and dynamics around women’s emotional labour in family businesses
• AUTHORS
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• NOTES