Authors: Pilar Beneito López (University of Valencia), José Joaquín García Gómez (University of Almeria), and Ángel Pascual Martínez Soto (University of Murcia)
The persistence of the gender wage gap has been a subject of extensive economic and social inquiry, given its enduring presence across different historical and geographical contexts. While considerable research has focused on contemporary factors contributing to wage disparities, the institutional roots of such inequalities during early industrialisation periods remain less well understood. This blog post summarizes recent research examining the impact of early unionisation on gender wage gaps in Yecla, a dynamic agro-industrial city in southeastern Spain, over the period 1895 to 1935.
Historical Context and Research Motivation
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Spain was undergoing significant social and economic transformations. Industrialisation was advancing unevenly, with regions like Yecla serving as important agro-industrial hubs. This period was also marked by the emergence and expansion of trade unions, which became central actors in negotiating labour conditions and wages. Yet, the intersection of unionisation and gender wage disparities during this era has been largely overlooked in the historiography of Spanish labour markets.
Existing literature presents conflicting views on how unions affect the gender wage gap. On one hand, unions can reduce wage inequality through collective bargaining, increased wage transparency, and the establishment of minimum wages. These mechanisms might particularly benefit lower-paid workers, among whom women are often overrepresented. On the other hand, unions, especially in their early stages, may have reinforced gender inequalities by privileging male workers who dominated union leadership and membership, thus limiting women’s access and bargaining power. This study aims to contribute to this debate by analysing empirical data from Yecla during the foundational period of union development.
Data and Methodology
One of the primary challenges in analysing historical labour markets is the scarcity of detailed, disaggregated data. This research overcomes that limitation by compiling a unique panel dataset from archival sources including union membership records, company payrolls, and municipal records. The dataset covers annual average wages and unionisation rates by gender across several key sectors: day labourers in agriculture, textile industry workers, esparto and espadrille manufacturing, and permanent farm workers (who remained non-unionised and serve as a control group).
By constructing these gender-specific series, the study leverages a difference-in-differences methodology with treatment intensity, which compares wage trends between unionised and non-unionised sectors before and after unionisation. This approach helps isolate the causal impact of union presence on wages while accounting for other temporal and sectoral factors.
Key Findings
The empirical results provide compelling evidence that the emergence of trade unions in Yecla had a differential impact on wages by gender. Specifically, unionisation was associated with significant and positive wage increases for men. Conversely, female wages showed no statistically significant improvement attributable to union activity. Consequently, the gender wage gap widened in the sectors and periods affected by unionisation.
These findings support the hypothesis that early unions were not necessarily allies of female workers. Historical narratives and archival evidence indicate that union leadership and decision-making structures were overwhelmingly male-dominated, reflecting broader socio-cultural norms that privileged men as primary breadwinners. Women’s labour demands were often subordinated or sidelined in collective bargaining processes. The feminist workers’ groups that emerged in Yecla, while influential locally, were insufficient to overcome these entrenched institutional barriers during the period analysed.
Additionally, the broader legal and cultural context limited women’s union participation. Restrictions on female political rights, social expectations regarding women’s domestic roles, and occupational segregation constrained women’s capacity to engage fully with unions. These factors, combined with male prioritisation within unions, likely contributed to the stagnation of female wages despite growing union strength.
Implications and Contributions
This study makes several important contributions to both economic history and gender labour economics. First, it provides rare, empirically grounded insights into the early interactions between unionisation and gender wage disparities during a critical phase of industrialisation in Spain. By focusing on a less-studied agro-industrial context, it expands the scope of labour history beyond major urban and heavy industrial centres, enriching our understanding of labour market dynamics in diverse settings.
Second, it highlights the institutional mechanisms through which wage inequality can be reproduced or exacerbated, even by organisations ostensibly designed to protect worker interests. The male-centric nature of early unions and their reinforcement of traditional gender roles underscore the complexity of collective labour movements as agents of social change.
Finally, the study points to the need for further research on the evolution of union impacts on gender wage gaps across time and different socio-political contexts. Understanding when and how unions transition from reinforcing to mitigating gender inequalities has significant implications for contemporary labour policies aimed at closing persistent wage gaps.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this research sheds light on the complex relationship between trade union development and gender wage inequality during a formative period of Spain’s industrialisation. The evidence from Yecla suggests that early unions contributed to widening the gender wage gap by increasing men’s wages while leaving women’s wages largely unaffected. This pattern reflects both the institutional limitations of unions at the time and the broader socio-cultural environment that constrained women’s labour market integration.
By uncovering these historical dynamics, the study provides valuable context for understanding the institutional origins of wage disparities that persist today. It also serves as a reminder of the importance of inclusive labour organisations and policies that explicitly address gender inequality in the workforce.
Future research may build on this work by exploring other regions and time periods, as well as by examining the long-term trajectories of unionisation and gender equity in labour markets.