Independent women : investing in British Railways, 1870-1922

Acheson, Graeme G. and Campbell, Gareth and Gallagher, Áine and Turner, John D. (2021) Independent women : investing in British Railways, 1870-1922. Economic History Review, 74 (2). pp. 471-495. ISSN 0013-0117 (https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.12968)

[thumbnail of Acheson-etal-EHR2020-Independent-women-investing-in-British-Railways-1870-1922]
Preview
Text. Filename: Acheson_etal_EHR2020_Independent_women_investing_in_British_Railways_1870_1922.pdf
Accepted Author Manuscript

Download (762kB)| Preview

Abstract

The early twentieth century saw the British capital market reach a state of maturity before any of its global counterparts. This coincided with more women participating directly in the stock market. This study analyses whether these female shareholders chose to invest independently of men. Using a novel dataset of almost 500,000 shareholders in some of the largest British railways, it shows that women were much more likely to be solo shareholders than men. There is also evidence that they prioritized their independence above other considerations such as where they invested or how diversified they could be.