Any person feels better if they know they are contributing to society. Remember however that looking after a family is just such a contribution.
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Women have been working hard since the beginning of time.
There were several reasons. Women were considered not to have the stamina to work long hours (outside of the home, that is). Women, as a whole, supposedly would not have the minds able to understand something so unfeminine. It was thought that women would take the jobs from men who needed them, and that families would suffer greatly with the women not home. Men did not want to supervisor or work with women.
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The establishment of the principle of treating women and men equally
Women have always been able to work legally, just during certain time periods (mostly before the 1900's) women holding a job was looked down upon by society in all areas of the globe.