Female Immigration and Employment in Trieste at the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries

ABSTRACT

The article examines female immigration and employment in Trieste on the basis of census statistics. It starts by illustrating the geographic origin of the immigration flows and the factors that influenced their volumes, dynamics and sex ratio. Then the employment of women is presented, which was mainly cor- related with young age and single marital status and was concentrated in two principal sectors: crafts and domestic services. In the third part the article analyses the geographical origin of the economi- cally active female population, their inclusion in the labour market and their distribution by working segments. We found that the native women tended to be employed in craft activities, while domestic services were the dominion of immigrant women. This separation is correlated with the specificities of the working sectors, the different social status and the aspirations of native and immigrant women. We also discuss certain aspects of female migration and the reliability of the statistics concerning the involvement of women in economic activities.

KEY WORDS: female migrations, female employment, Trieste, urbanization, urban history

Article is published only in Slovenian