The Role of Women in Modern-Day Society TV sitcoms in the 1950s would usually features scenes of men heading to work

in suits and women taking care of domestic tasks a standard portrayal of the division of labor and gender roles at the time. However, this situation is less observable nowadays, with the distinction between the role of male and female blurred, due to the development of the society into a more complex, advanced and technology-oriented one. This essay shall attempt to examine the roles of women in modern-day society, from two viewpoints, the viewpoint of the family unit, and the viewpoint of the society. First and foremost, before focusing on the current roles of women in today families, it is of great importance that we must look at the traditional situation of women over the centuries to understand fully the extent to which the roles of women has changed. Women, for ages, while recognized as being an indispensable complement to men, also has been regarded by many cultures from around the globe as being inferior to men in many aspects: physically and intellectually. According to Darwin, the male always has larger bodies and greater physical capability than the female, allowing him to display strength and take part in strenuous activities to produce wealth and alter living conditions. The female, however, has to suffer from the so-called cycle of nature, having to endure pain and discomfort, often associated with the ability to give birth, thus binding her to purely domestic tasks. This discrepancy in physical attributes eventually led to the discrepancy in intellectual attributes women are not seen as directly involved in the generation of goods and the creation of values, therefore the education of women has often been dismissed as inferior to that of men. The combination of the above mentioned factor, the female tendency to accept her place, and other factors culminate in the universal status of women as second to men and her adherence to strict domestic and reproduction tasks. Although the notion regarding women and her place in society still bears resemblance to the past, it is undeniable that there have been significant alterations in womens conditions ever since the Womens Rights Movement of the 19th and 20th century with a focus on equality for the female gender. Today, in many cultures, women are enjoying a never-before-seen degree of freedom and are slowly gaining equality with men in many fronts, firstly from the perspective of the family unit. Before, women were viewed as the stay-at-home member of the family, subjected to the task of taking care of housework and the bringing-up of infants and children, while the men were viewed as the breadwinner, the supply of money and goods for the family. Nowadays, with the equality in education and the help of technology, women in some countries are able to work like men, thus depriving men of their dominant status of being the only one with an income. In some extreme cases, the roles of the husband and the wife are even reversed: stay-at-home husbands are gaining acceptance from the society. The reason for working women stems from the desire and

ability of women to earn money to prove themselves as equal to men, and also from the need of the family unit to sustain life. However, this change of labor division in the home does not necessarily benefit women: men are still reluctant to take charge of domestic work, as it is against their intended nature to do so; therefore, some women acquire two roles in the family unit at the same time: the housekeeper and the breadwinner. In other words, while a women works, she still has to nurse children and complete housework, thus exposing herself to more responsibility and stress. Not only are women experiencing changes on a domestic scale, they are experiencing changes on a social scale as well. From being the indirect contributors to the overall wealth of the society, women have turned into direct contributors they are occupying more and more places in the workforce thanks to the availability and demand of jobs in the market. From an inactive role in the shaping of the values of the society, women has now become more active in her participation in the previously male-dominant aspects of our culture: art, religion, law, etc. The world has witnessed the rise of enterprising and inspiring female figures in its lifespan: female presidents such as Angela Merkel, female scientists such as Marie Curie, and so forth. This speaks volumes about the role of women in the society: women are invading the sacred halls once reserved for men and are claiming her rights from the hands of men they are challenging the foundations of assumptions about the secondary status of women. That being said, women are still bound to their bodily functions: the ability to reproduce and their nature of bonding and intimacy. Again, women have two roles: to reproduce offspring to ensure the ongoing existence of humans while producing the material and spiritual values of the society which used to be the role of men. Before coming to a conclusion, it is important to note clearly that the current situation of women poses both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, women are attaining the equality they longed for. On the other hand, women are having to work more strenuous than ever, since they have not yet escaped from the social ideas related to the function of women to give birth and stay at home. Women have to prove that they are capable of both living for communitys expectation, and living for themselves. In conclusion, despite certain discriminations, women are beginning to break free from the cage of subjugation and discrimination by attaining similar status to men in the society, both on a domestic and social scale. However, whether the freedom from the cage make them or break them remains to be seen.