1926 Gender & Marriage Status of North American Missionaries in Sichuan

Item

Title
1926 Gender & Marriage Status of North American Missionaries in Sichuan
Identifier
DS_0005
Description
Bar charts based on the 1926 WCMAB list, comparing the percentage of cohort versus non-cohort West China missionaries by gender, and by gender and marriage status.
Commentary
This pair of bar charts is based on the list of 607 missionaries in Sichuan compiled by the West China Missions Advisory Board (WCMAB) in 1926 (see the “Is Part Of” dataset record). They are part of an analysis that aims to identify the traits of a cohort of West China missionaries who had similar experiences before, during and after their lives as missionaries. Members of the cohort were descendants of rural Anglophone settlers in North America. Born between the 1850s and 1920s, cohort members were linked through social networks within the organizations to which they belonged. The Methodist and Baptist denominations in North America worked closely with the YM/WCA and other parachurch organizations to funnel promising youth into mission work. These common backgrounds tended to produce similar theological leanings within the broad umbrella of the social gospel, although there were also subtle differences in perspectives and approaches among them.

The first bar chart shows gender percentages for missionaries within and beyond the cohort. Percentages have been calculated separately based on the total numbers for each group (Cohort n336; Non-cohort n241). Two things are clear. First, there is no significant difference between the two groups. Second, for both groups there are almost double the number of women than there are men.

The second bar chart looks at gender and marital status together. Percentages have been calculated separately based on the total numbers for each group (Cohort n336; Non-cohort n241). Note that in the previous chart gender status is shown by red and blue bars, while in the second one these represent the cohort status. Here too the two groups are almost mirror images, with single women dominating the field. The exception is that the non-cohort group has slightly fewer single women and more single men.

This pair of bar charts demonstrates that neither gender nor marital status are defining traits of the North American missionary cohort.
Creator
Cory Willmott
Date Created
2024
Is Part Of
The West China Missions Advisory Board’s Directory 1926, According to Missions
Provenance
Original scholarship by Cory Willmott.
Access Rights
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Publisher
SIUE
Record Date
2024-11-06
Contributor
Cory Willmott
Type
Dataset
Item sets
Datasets
Media
DS_0005a 1926 ALL Gender Comp.png
DS_0005b 1926 Gender 7 Status Comp.png

Linked resources

Items with "Has Part: 1926 Gender & Marriage Status of North American Missionaries in Sichuan"
Title Class
The West China Missions Advisory Board’s Directory 1926, According to Missions Dataset