Final answer:
Historically, women faced strict societal roles confining them to domestic spaces, but innovations such as the right to vote, participation in labor unions, and gender equality movements contributed to the gradual erosion of these restrictions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Throughout history, women have faced restrictions and societal expectations that confined them largely to domestic roles. With each wave of technological and societal innovation, new opportunities arose that began to alter these restrictions. During the Victorian era, women were cut off from the outside world by house designs that emphasized safety over sociability. However, with the rise of the modern women's movement, the culture of domesticity slowly shifted. Women gained experience during war times that would not be forgotten, eventually leading to significant changes in the 1920s. In the US, women won the right to vote and 'flappers' embodied a breach with Victorian gender codes by adopting new fashions, behaviors, and a sense of freedom that was not tied to the home, further propelled by the advent of automobility.
By the mid-20th century, despite facing the notion that female employment outside the home was unnatural, nearly half of working women were single, challenging traditional notions of the housewife. Changes in the economy, as well as women's rising participation in labor unions and civil rights activism, started to erode Victorian gender roles. Similarly, public spaces were traditionally gender-segregated, limiting women's access and reinforcing societal roles. Yet, advances in education and employment opened doors for women, helping them forge a path toward gender equality.