Gender roles through time and across cultures - AP World History: Modern

Women in Mesopotamia generally had less societal power than men; however, they enjoyed certain rights and privileges which were uncommon elsewhere in the world. Women had the right to own property and businesses, for example.

Large-scale movements toward gender equality did not exist until the Modern Era with the Suffrage movement in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Hopi tribes, along with some other contemporary Amerindian societies, functioned as a matriarchy. Unlike the majority of civilizations, which functioned as patriarchies, those that operated as matriarchies lent senior women decision-making power, and families were traced matrilineally. Despite these facts, historians doubt that any society has existed, matriarchy or not, in which women were given a higher place in the social order than men.

During the Roman Empire, women could receive educations, own property, and run businesses, but were considered inferior to men. Still, this places the Roman Empire on a higher level of gender equality than many of its contemporaries and empires to come - in Han China or medieval Arabia, women were completely subservient to their husbands and, in many areas, not even permitted to leave their homes.

The Mongol invasion itself brought death and destruction to Chinese cities. But in the century that followed, under Mongol reign, Chinese women could own property, do business, and travel freely. Noble women were no longer required to bind their feet, and women were encouraged to hunt or become soldiers, two roles previously reserved for men. Additionally, Mongols vigilantly protected urban areas and highways, making traveling alone more safe - and less taboo - for women.

Women made up the majority of the American workforce during parts of the war, seeking high-demand jobs in traditionally-male fields like manufacturing. In addition to the huge contribution to the war effort this trend provided, women stayed in the workforce in higher numbers after the war. This led to the explosion in the American working mother demographic through the baby boom.

Historically, marriage in Europe signified as much (if not more) for the families of the betrothed than for the bride and groom themselves - marriages would be strategically arranged to secure social status, distribute wealth and estate, and (in the case of nobles) establish political alliances. Notions of individualism that stemmed from the Reformation, however, led to an increase in marriages for love. Marriage did continue remain a primarily economic arrangement in many cases even after the Reformation.

Women in Mesopotamia generally had less societal power than men; however, they enjoyed certain rights and privileges which were uncommon elsewhere in the world. Women had the right to own property and businesses, for example.

Large-scale movements toward gender equality did not exist until the Modern Era with the Suffrage movement in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Hopi tribes, along with some other contemporary Amerindian societies, functioned as a matriarchy. Unlike the majority of civilizations, which functioned as patriarchies, those that operated as matriarchies lent senior women decision-making power, and families were traced matrilineally. Despite these facts, historians doubt that any society has existed, matriarchy or not, in which women were given a higher place in the social order than men.

During the Roman Empire, women could receive educations, own property, and run businesses, but were considered inferior to men. Still, this places the Roman Empire on a higher level of gender equality than many of its contemporaries and empires to come - in Han China or medieval Arabia, women were completely subservient to their husbands and, in many areas, not even permitted to leave their homes.

The Mongol invasion itself brought death and destruction to Chinese cities. But in the century that followed, under Mongol reign, Chinese women could own property, do business, and travel freely. Noble women were no longer required to bind their feet, and women were encouraged to hunt or become soldiers, two roles previously reserved for men. Additionally, Mongols vigilantly protected urban areas and highways, making traveling alone more safe - and less taboo - for women.

Women made up the majority of the American workforce during parts of the war, seeking high-demand jobs in traditionally-male fields like manufacturing. In addition to the huge contribution to the war effort this trend provided, women stayed in the workforce in higher numbers after the war. This led to the explosion in the American working mother demographic through the baby boom.

Historically, marriage in Europe signified as much (if not more) for the families of the betrothed than for the bride and groom themselves - marriages would be strategically arranged to secure social status, distribute wealth and estate, and (in the case of nobles) establish political alliances. Notions of individualism that stemmed from the Reformation, however, led to an increase in marriages for love. Marriage did continue remain a primarily economic arrangement in many cases even after the Reformation.

Women in Mesopotamia generally had less societal power than men; however, they enjoyed certain rights and privileges which were uncommon elsewhere in the world. Women had the right to own property and businesses, for example.

Large-scale movements toward gender equality did not exist until the Modern Era with the Suffrage movement in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Hopi tribes, along with some other contemporary Amerindian societies, functioned as a matriarchy. Unlike the majority of civilizations, which functioned as patriarchies, those that operated as matriarchies lent senior women decision-making power, and families were traced matrilineally. Despite these facts, historians doubt that any society has existed, matriarchy or not, in which women were given a higher place in the social order than men.

During the Roman Empire, women could receive educations, own property, and run businesses, but were considered inferior to men. Still, this places the Roman Empire on a higher level of gender equality than many of its contemporaries and empires to come - in Han China or medieval Arabia, women were completely subservient to their husbands and, in many areas, not even permitted to leave their homes.

The Mongol invasion itself brought death and destruction to Chinese cities. But in the century that followed, under Mongol reign, Chinese women could own property, do business, and travel freely. Noble women were no longer required to bind their feet, and women were encouraged to hunt or become soldiers, two roles previously reserved for men. Additionally, Mongols vigilantly protected urban areas and highways, making traveling alone more safe - and less taboo - for women.

Women made up the majority of the American workforce during parts of the war, seeking high-demand jobs in traditionally-male fields like manufacturing. In addition to the huge contribution to the war effort this trend provided, women stayed in the workforce in higher numbers after the war. This led to the explosion in the American working mother demographic through the baby boom.