Gender Roles

Gender Roles tend to be similar in mostly all countries. So many things have changed throughout the time from back in the days till now. The way people view gender roles today is totally different from how they viewed it years back. We all hear that expression that "daddy brings the bacon home" meaning that the men work and bring in the income while the women are stay home wives and take care of the house, clean, cook, and take care of the kids as well.

While doing my research on the difference between gender roles in the U.K and Ethiopia the gender roles are viewed differently. In the U.K the gender roles in society have changed over time in different cultures. The men and women roles in the U.K were affected greatly by World War II. Women were pushed into entirely different roles as the war progressed in Europe. The traditional roles as mistress of the house had changed. The idea of theory of taking care, raising, and cooking for the children had to be altered to make room for other task for the Nation.

Women worked in the factories and joined the armed forces to proved men the opportunity to fight against the Germans. The economy of effort had shifted into the women's ream while men had to leave to go overseas to fight. U.K's economy and country depended on women to watch the coast and use anti-aircraft gun against enemy planes. Women that were located in the cities where bombings took place were used as nurses .After the war women in England had gained a new confidence level in themselves.

Family life went back to the women taking care of the children, but there was competition and also a considerable increase of two bread winners into the family. A woman being in the position of power is something that the English don't have a problem with accepting. For example in England their county has had a Queen that has political influence. The election and repeated re-election of Margaret Thatcher as prime mister show England's desire to have people in leadership role according to ability and not gender.

Till this day the attitudes of men and women towards gender roles did not differ greatly. In the 90's it appeared that there had been something of a realignment of men's attitudes and that men were more positive towards working mothers and more likely to feel that family life suffered because men were too involved in their work. The perception that what women really want is a home and children has remained surprisingly consistent since 1994.

Views have continued to be equally shared between women and men agreeing with the statement that a job is all right but what most women really want is a home and children. The idea that being a housewife is just as fulfilling as working for pay has been endorsed by fewer respondents in 2002 than in 1994 when almost 50% of men and women agreed that this was the case. However, the majority of respondents also recognize the importance of paid work to women's independence.

An increasing number of women are participating in the paid labour market. This reflects a desire for women to be more economically independent but is also an economic necessity for many families. Seventy per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that both the man and women should contribute to the household income. Today in the UK, in law women and men have equal rights. Nevertheless, inequalities still exist.

For instance, recent surveys have shown that rates of pay for men and women are not equal and men can still earn around 17% more. Also, the traditional roles still exist, with women doing the majority of household chores and childcare. In the workplace, there are still jobs, such as nursing, that are seen as 'female' and there are far fewer women than men in positions of real power.

In Ethiopia on the other hand being a totally different country