The role of women in the family

The role of women in the family has shifted significantly. Women were described as housekeepers and mothers by Catherine Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe (212) in 1879. The role of homemaker and mother now incorporates being primary wage earner and single head of the household for many women, according to June Andrews Horowitz (62). Over the past hundred years, despite this changing view of the role of women in the family, and not discounting men's contributions to childcare and household chores, women still maintain the primary responsibility for care of the children and household (Hochschild 7). This primary responsibility for the home and child has been maintained regardless of whether the working woman is married or single.