Abstract

In recent years, studies have unveiled that women were relevant shareholders in the later 19 th Century and the beginning of the 20 th Century in the most developed regions of the world such as England, the United States, and part of Northwestern Europe. This research provides evidence that the well-established tradition of women shareholders also had its echo in Mediterranean Europe, particularly in Spain. On average, women shareholders had a more modest portfolio than men. Female participation in banks’ assets points to the existence of other family members who were also shareholders. The paper devotes the last section to unveiling cases of women shareholders whose familial relationships affected their assets.