Women in the 21st century have expanded their roles and positions in society, especially those that were formerly dominated by men. These areas include careers, independence, decision-making, and military combat, to name just a few. Women are still trying to prove their equality to men, but have made major strides in the last 100 years.
Clearly, circumstances of family life have changed in the 21st century. The modern era has taken the woman out of the home and into the workplace. Furthermore, large families are no longer as economically practical or as socially desired. Today's family model has changed; the traditional family structure of woman as homemaker and husband as breadwinner makes up only 10 percent of today's families. .
Women have made advances toward equality in their careers. For example, the modern woman may compete in the workplace for positions such as doctors, engineers, architects, and construction workers. These occupations were previously dominated by men. Today you see women climbing the corporate ladder of large companies earning salaries approaching, if not equivalent, to those of men. In the past, the "glass ceiling" was much lower. Many more women are occupying the position of Chief Executive Officer and are even sitting on Boards of Directors. One of our local examples is Carli Fiorina who heads up Hewlett-Packard. Additionally women are not only obtaining an education for self-enrichment as was done in the past, but more women are going to college and earning degrees enabling them to advance in corporate America. .
In the independence and decision-making arena, other drastic changes occurred for women of the 21st century. In the past, most women did not make their own decisions with respect to finances, politics, purchases, and education. Males, such as fathers or spouses, typically made these decisions for them. Women of today have more opportunities available to them, and can choose to be independent from their family.