Abstract

Feminist frustrations: The enduring neglect of a women’s business history and the opportunity for radical change

In response to a special call of ‘bringing gender and feminism from the periphery to the centre of business history’, the authors undertake an in-depth appraisal of Business History’s own record, as a key signifier of the field. The scope includes articles and reviews published between 2000 and 2020 and find 17 articles out of 918 (1.85%) and 99 reviews out of 2,217 (4.46%), with a downward trend from 2010 to 2020. To start, the authors engage with a critical question as to the definition of the field itself and explore what those internal to the journal have had to say about its definition. The authors then take a critical look at how women have been socially constructed as (a) historical actors, as (b) gendered roles and as (c) authors of history. To understand what has been included and neglected, the authors investigate and reveal clues as to the barriers and possible entry points.