Among the many news stories dedicated to the recession that gripped the United States in the late 2000s were several pieces that asked whether the economic downturn had led to a change in traditional gender roles. More than 80 percent of the jobs lost during the recession had belonged to men, which led to women holding the majority of jobs in the United States for the first time ever.Men who lost their jobs were employed in fields like construction and finance, whereas the women had been in slightly steadier fields like teaching and health care, fields where there will always be a demand for workers. With their husbands unemployed, women would now take on the role of breadwinner, while the men would take care of the home.Men and women's roles in society have been changing for decades now. Traditionally, men have worked outside the home and served as the sole breadwinner for the family. They held some of the most powerful jobs in society, including doctor, lawyer and politician. Women, on the other hand, governed the domestic sphere. They were expected to stay home, raise children and have an evening meal waiting for their husbands. If they did work, it was as a secretary, a nurse or another stereotypically female profession.

hough change is still in the air, there's no doubt that men and women's roles have become less strictly defined, and many families have made the male and female roles more egalitarian when it comes to jobs, housework and childcare.