European Social Science History Conference, Lyon 2027, April 21-24
Organisers : Selin Dilli (Utrecht University) and Manuela Martini (Universté Lumière Lyon 2)

Over the past decades, historical research has increasingly documented women’s involvement in business and financial activities as investors, traders, administrators, innovators, corporate leaders, and business owners across different regions of the world since at least the early modern period (e.g., Beachy et al. 2006; Craig 2015; Dejardin, 2019; Aston and Bishop 2020; Effosse 2021; Le Chapelain 2024). This growing body of literature also highlights how women’s economic activities were embedded in broader transformations in trade, business organization, financial systems, legal frameworks, and social norms. It emphasizes the interaction between these structural conditions, which shaped opportunities and constraints for women in business and finance, and the strategies women developed to navigate them.
While previous research has been crucial for challenging the idea that these women in business and finance were not exceptional and for understanding the historical conditions behind their activities, we still know very little about the similarities and differences among this diverse group of business and finance women with different motivations and needs, such as in terms of loans, networks, and skills. This session aims to examine how such a comparison among these groups of women can be meaningful and, therefore, invites contributions that analyze women’s involvement in business and finance from the Middle Ages to the present. We welcome papers addressing a wide range of activities, including investment, finance, corporate governance, entrepreneurship, trade, business ownership, and participation in family firms. Contributions from all geographical regions are encouraged, with special attention given to expanding geographic diversity in the field.

Possible questions include, but are not limited to:
1. How did the nature and extent of women’s participation in business and finance change over time?
2. How did cultural norms, legal institutions, and economic changes shape women’s opportunities and roles in business and finance? When and how did these mechanisms differ among women in business and finance?
3. Who were their partners? To what extent was their business an individual or collective adventure?

We also welcome methodological contributions that reflect on sources and methods for studying women’s economic activity, such as the use of company archives, financial records, and business registers for women’s labour and business history.

Interested participants are invited to submit a 300-word abstract and a short bio to s.dilli@uu.nl and manuela.martini@univ-lyon2.fr by 9 April. Authors will be notified of the outcome of the selection in mid-April.