Agricultural activity and gender in Spain: An approach based on the 1982 agricultural census

Abstract

The 1982 Agrarian Census is the first to provide minimally significant statistics which permit an analysis of the role of women in Spanish agriculture. This fact, however, also signifies that evolutionary studies cannot be carried out on the basis of this source, and hence the results of analysis will only provide a cross-section at one point in time (1981-1982). The following information on female employment is included in the Census: (i) the number of permanent female employees, classified according to age and farm size, (ii) the number of female farm proprietors classified according to age and farm size, and (iii) the number of unpaid «family helpers» classified according to age, sex and farm size. These variables are analysed at a general scale and at Autonomous Community level; and in some cases these variables are analysed at provincial level and compared with statistics of land ownership. The most noteworthy conclusions include the fact that a substantial part of female labour is undertaken by the wives of farmers, a tendency which is especially marked in small farms (1-20 ha). Such results appear to corroborate the fundamental role that women play in the survival of family farm units in Spain.