| Number Convicted. | Number of Women Convicted to Each 100 Men Convicted. | ||
| To the 100,000 Men over 12. | To the 100,000 Women over 12. | ||
| 1888 | 1,821.7 | 358.0 | 19.7 |
| 1894 | 2,164.3 | 374.9 | 18.7 |
| 1896 | 2,177.7 | 388.9 | 17.9 |
| 1898 | — | — | 19.5 |
| 1900 | — | — | 19.3 |
There was, then, an increase in the criminality of women, but a smaller increase than that of men (except in 1898). [[476]]
Austria, 1881–1899.[194]
Percentage of Persons Convicted who were Women.
| 1881–1885. | 1886–1890. | 1891–1895. | 1896. | 1897. | 1898. | 1899. |
| 14.8 | 14.6 | 14.7 | 14.1 | 14.4 | 13.5 | 13.9 |
Here, then, there was a slight but fluctuating diminution in the criminality of women in proportion to that of men.
It must be conceded that the figures given do not contribute much to the support of the thesis that it is especially the social position of women which is the cause of their being less criminal. This position has been modified during the years to which the figures given refer. Women participate much more than formerly in the whole economic and social life. One would accordingly naturally look for a great increase in the criminality of women. Nevertheless these figures cannot, it seems to me, be used to refute the thesis in question, for the following reasons:
In the first place the figures given cover a short period only. They do not show very much, therefore; for, notwithstanding the continual increase of the importance of the rôle of woman in the economic life, the modification of her position in the whole social life is not made so quickly that one can expect much of an increase in female criminality in the criminal statistics of the last few years.[195]
In the second place, most of the figures give the ratio of the crimes of women to those of men; they do not then show whether the decrease in the percentage is due to a decrease in the criminality of women, or rather to an increase in that of men. This latter is the case, for example, in Germany.[196]
In the third place the statistics at my disposal are not sufficiently detailed with regard to the movement of the criminality of women, so that it is impossible to tell whether there are changes in the qualitative character of the crimes even though its quantitative character remains about the same.[197] [[477]]