In the United States of America, many traditional roles of men and women have changed in the last century tremendously.
Traditionally, men were the "breadwinners," or main individual who made the family's income. The woman however, stayed home with the children and did the cooking and cleaning.
This being said, many things have changed in the United States since the days of the past. Women, although they are still not given pay equal to men, have come a long way in their search for gender equality.
In the early 1900s, women challenged the government for the right to vote and to be seen as equals to men. Since then, women have risen in the ranks of American society. The most significant event in my mind is the campaign of Hillary Rodham Clinton for president in 2008. Not in history has a woman come so close to becoming president as Mrs. Clinton did.
Although many people seem to like to pretend that gender roles are non-existant, I don't believe this is true. Women still are more likely to stay home and raise a family while the men are more likely to work a full-time job. But now more women than ever work and are mothers as well. This used to be looked down upon but now, it has become a common practice. It is also seen as acceptable for men to stay home and raise children, whereas it was taboo for men to do "women's work".
To sum it all up: there are still gender roles of women staying home and raising children and men going to work and supporting a family. They are not as concrete as they used to be and many women now raise a family and work at the same time while many men stay home and raise children. There is more gender equality and