“Wenches who served in the streets”. Women in the building sector in the transition from the Middle Ages to the Modern Age: a review based on a Basque case

Abstract

This study looks at the women who worked in the building industry in the late Middle Ages and early Modern Era, especially as manual laborers, based on a Basque case. Although sources reveal widespread female presence in this labour field, this has as yet not been reflected in historiography. The references to these workers are mainly found in municipal and accounting documents, which show their participation in work including roofing, street paving, reinforcement of dams and walls, and the remodelling of bridges and fountains. Mainly young and from humble social backgrounds, most of these female day labourers performed tasks that did not require specific qualifications and were worse paid than their male counterparts. Women’s employment in the sector demonstrates the historicity of gender assignments, and the extensive work required to render them more visible.