From 1600 to 1900, the ratio of men to women enslaved and exported in the African slave trade was roughly 181:100 – in other words, nearly two men were enslaved for every woman. It has long been theorized that this historical disparity continues to affect Africa’s cultural and political systems. In this article, the authors examine the impact of temporary gender imbalances caused by the slave trade on female political participation in modern African nation-states. They find that female political participation (measured using national voting records from 2011–2018) is higher in parts of Africa that lost a greater number of individuals to the slave trade, but only among non-patrilineal ethnic groups.

From 1600 to 1900, the ratio of men to women enslaved and exported in the African slave trade was roughly 181:100 – in other words, nearly two men were enslaved for every woman. It has long been theorized that this historical disparity continues to affect Africa’s cultural and political systems. In this article, the authors examine the impact of temporary gender imbalances caused by the slave trade on female political participation in modern African nation-states. They find that female political participation (measured using national voting records from 2011–2018) is higher in parts of Africa that lost a greater number of individuals to the slave trade, but only among non-patrilineal ethnic groups.

From 1600 to 1900, the ratio of men to women enslaved and exported in the African slave trade was roughly 181:100 – in other words, nearly two men were enslaved for every woman. It has long been theorized that this historical disparity continues to affect Africa’s cultural and political systems. In this article, the authors examine the impact of temporary gender imbalances caused by the slave trade on female political participation in modern African nation-states. They find that female political participation (measured using national voting records from 2011–2018) is higher in parts of Africa that lost a greater number of individuals to the slave trade, but only among non-patrilineal ethnic groups.

From 1600 to 1900, the ratio of men to women enslaved and exported in the African slave trade was roughly 181:100 – in other words, nearly two men were enslaved for every woman. It has long been theorized that this historical disparity continues to affect Africa’s cultural and political systems. In this article, the authors examine the impact of temporary gender imbalances caused by the slave trade on female political participation in modern African nation-states. They find that female political participation (measured using national voting records from 2011–2018) is higher in parts of Africa that lost a greater number of individuals to the slave trade, but only among non-patrilineal ethnic groups.

Lowes and Nunn test the theory that the transatlantic and Indian Ocean slave trades of the thirteenth to nineteenth centuries prompted a shift towards matrilineal kinship systems throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Controlling for ecological variables commonly thought to affect kinship structure (including ruggedness of terrain, suitability for agriculture, etc.), the authors find a significant correlation between the number of people enslaved from a given ethnic group, and the tendency of that group towards a matrilineal kinship system. Polygyny was also identified as a statistically significant characteristic of communities most impacted by the slave trade.

There is considerable variation both within and across societies in attitudes towards female employment outside of the household. In some societies, the dominant belief is that women should have equal opportunity to work outside the home, while in others women are strongly discouraged from working outside of the domestic sphere. Here the authors use pre-industrial ethnographic data and contemporary observations of gender inequality to test the hypothesis that cultural attitudes regarding the appropriateness of women working outside of the household are rooted in the ancestral adoption of plough cultivation. Contemporary measures of gender inequality assess variation across countries, ethnic groups, and individuals.

There is considerable variation both within and across societies in attitudes towards female employment outside of the household. In some societies, the dominant belief is that women should have equal opportunity to work outside the home, while in others women are strongly discouraged from working outside of the domestic sphere. Here the authors use pre-industrial ethnographic data and contemporary observations of gender inequality to test the hypothesis that cultural attitudes regarding the appropriateness of women working outside of the household are rooted in the ancestral adoption of plough cultivation. Contemporary measures of gender inequality assess variation across countries, ethnic groups, and individuals.

There is considerable variation both within and across societies in attitudes towards female employment outside of the household. In some societies, the dominant belief is that women should have equal opportunity to work outside the home, while in others women are strongly discouraged from working outside of the domestic sphere. Here the authors use pre-industrial ethnographic data and contemporary observations of gender inequality to test the hypothesis that cultural attitudes regarding the appropriateness of women working outside of the household are rooted in the ancestral adoption of plough cultivation. Contemporary measures of gender inequality assess variation across countries, ethnic groups, and individuals.

There is considerable variation both within and across societies in attitudes towards female employment outside of the household. In some societies, the dominant belief is that women should have equal opportunity to work outside the home, while in others women are strongly discouraged from working outside of the domestic sphere. Here the authors use pre-industrial ethnographic data and contemporary observations of gender inequality to test the hypothesis that cultural attitudes regarding the appropriateness of women working outside of the household are rooted in the ancestral adoption of plough cultivation. Contemporary measures of gender inequality assess variation across countries, ethnic groups, and individuals.

There is considerable variation both within and across societies in attitudes towards female employment outside of the household. In some societies, the dominant belief is that women should have equal opportunity to work outside the home, while in others women are strongly discouraged from working outside of the domestic sphere. Here the authors use pre-industrial ethnographic data and contemporary observations of gender inequality to test the hypothesis that cultural attitudes regarding the appropriateness of women working outside of the household are rooted in the ancestral adoption of plough cultivation. Contemporary measures of gender inequality assess variation across countries, ethnic groups, and individuals.