This week, Wieke Metzlar, a new PhD-candidate at Radboud University, has started with her project that researches the patterns and determinants of excess mortality among girls in the Netherlands between 1864 and 1930.
Despite female’s pre-determined biological survival advantage, certain groups of girls experience higher levels of mortality than boys in both past and present societies. Proposed explanations range from (1) biological hypotheses, like girls having less resistance to communicable diseases, to (2) gendered roles, where young females - caring for the sick within households - were more exposed to infections, and (3) gender discrimination, including reduced access to food and medical care. However, these theories lack thorough empirical testing. This project focuses on patterns and determinants of excess mortality among Dutch girls between 1 and 15 between 1864 and 1930. The project uses individual-level data to examine what caused excess female mortality. Specific attention will be paid to the role of the family, especially that of parents and siblings.
This project is funded by the PhDs in the Humanities programme of the Dutch Research Council (NWO). Wieke’s promoters are professor Jan Kok and dr Paul Puschmann.