In theory and practice, in the modern era, the idea of spatial separation between home and work was related to the traditional sexual division of men and women, and of their role in life. Going back to the earliest feminist thinking in architecture, in western industrialized communities, we are elaborating in this article on women’s changing role in the 20th century and its impact on the space we experience today.
It all started as women entered the work environment.
Dolores Hayden in her paper “What Would a Non-Sexist City Be Like? Speculations on Housing, Urban Design, and Human Work”, published in the ’80s, tackled the dying notion of "A woman's place is in the home". This implicit principle of architectural design and urban planning dominated the United States for the last century. With women entering the paid labor force, this concept had no choice but to adapt.
