By ANNE WAITS/Staff Writer

Published on Thursday, August 12, 2010 - 6:38am |

• Opinion

This is the last in our four-part series on the changing role of women in the home.

Throughout the series, we have shown statistics on the number of women working outside the home today as compared with those in the ‘50s and ‘60s; have talked about the answers obtained on my survey of 20 questions asked of women of various ages and backgrounds; and from time to time, have used quotes from experts and studies on the subject.

Today, we will deal with one of the most controversial aspects of the survey and perhaps the area where women have made the most progress: women going places on their own and being more independent these days. We will then summarize the results of the survey.

As many of us know, in the ‘50s and ‘60s women mostly went places with their husbands and families. A good many wives still did not drive automobiles. Also, women in places that are considered the norm today was often considered socially unacceptable back then.