Nena Vandeweerdt, "Women and Work Through a Comparative Lens: Gender and the Urban Labor Markets of Premodern Brabant and Biscay" (Leuven UP, 2025)

Women and Work Through a Comparative Lens: Gender and the Urban Labor Markets of Premodern Brabant and Biscay explores women's economic roles in late medieval and early modern Europe, particularly through the lens of craft guilds and regional comparisons with the aim emphasising the visibility of women’s economic activities in premodern Europe. The book explains the nature of guilds at this period, emphasising their male-dominated nature that limited women's formal participation while still allowing them to play significant roles within household economies. Among other topical issues examined in the book are the institutional factors that shaped women's economic roles in the 16th century, with details on how households in Brabant functioned as economic units with women managing income and administration. Also, the book explained how institutions such as guilds, households, informal markets, and town governments shaped women's economic opportunities in the 16th century. Through a comparative approach, the book allows for a deeper understanding of women's visibility and economic conditions, particularly through the analysis of taxation registers and the public versus private nature of women’s work in different trades. The book contains a more nuanced comparison between specific regions in Europe, including Brabant and Biscay, to provide explanation on the North-South divide. The adoption of a comparative approach in the book enables a detailed analysis of women's labor opportunities including the fish trade, bread trade, itinerant informal trading, merchant activity and artisan work by examining two distinct regions. This comparative method reveals the complexities of women's economic positions and the varying factors that shaped their experiences cutting across town policy which placed restrictions due to guild influences. Mariam Olugbodi is a university teacher and a writer, she is the author of the monograph titled: “Stylistic Features in the 2011 and 2012 Final Matches Commentaries in the UEFA Champions League”, published by Grin Verlag. Mariam’s greatest dream is seeing a world where knowledge is accessible to all. She does this through her volunteering roles on open knowledge platforms as a host and an editor. As part of her effort to maintain inclusion and diversity in knowledge transmission, she volunteers as a teacher in crises contexts. Learn more and connect with Mariam through her social links @ (22) Olugbodi Mariam | LinkedIn, Mariam Olugbodi (0000-0001-5027-6644) - ORCID and User:Margob28 - Meta