It is well-known that gender distinctions structure the modern labour market, but why is this so and how far back in time does the pattern extend? Gender, Work, and the Transition to Modernity in Northwestern Europe, 1720-1880 uses a unique method to map and explain how gender rather than marital status came to be important. Gender, Work, and the Transition to Modernity in Northwestern Europe, 1720-1880 investigates how and why the division of work between men and women changed in the transition from early modern to modern society. Based on the verb-oriented method and around 19,000 observations of work activities in historical sources, its focus is on a mid-Swedish local society in the period 1720 to 1880. There were several continuities across this time: both women and men were observed in practically all forms of work, many households (both affluent and destitute) still relied on multiple sources of income, and the marital partnership continued to be important for what women and men
