The 1950's Housewives

When World War II broke out, a majority of American men left the country for war.  As a result, the women took over the jobs (such as factory jobs) in America that those men previously had.  The war ended in 1945, and as the 1950s rolled around, the men were reclaiming their previous jobs.  Consequently, women's roles changed back to the housewife status, their priority being housekeeping and caring for their husbands and children.

This role of women though, was more flexible than it had been in the past.  A large number of women actually kept the jobs that they had while the men went to war.  The numbers of marriages and births rapidly increased in the 1950s, but at the same time, the number of women in the work force was also increasing.

Regardless of the increasing numbers of working women, it was still looked down upon if women worked, especially if her family already had a sufficient amount of money.  It was looked down upon and a woman was deemed "selfish" if she had a job outside of their house but their family was making enough money already.  It was still more culturally accepted for the woman to stay home, her focus being on creating and caring for a family.

Because of this changing role of women, the number of women attending college decreased during the 1950s.  Many were instead getting married directly out of high school, around the age of 19.  Women who DID attend school were encouraged to take classes in housekeeping and financing, being that they are expected to take care of those duties in the house, while their husbands worked.

SOURCES:
http://www.sivaramaswami.com/en/2008/08/28/what-men-want/ (picture)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/peopleevents/p_mrs.html
http://1950s.weebly.com/womens-roles.html
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii