The value of different gender roles in the family
From the immemorial men and women had different roles in their families. This was taken for grunted and nobody thought that this way of life could be changed somehow. This tradition lasted for many years on end and passed on from one generation to another. Men had to protect their families and provide them with means of subsistence. Women in turn had to raise their children, do chores and take care of their family hearth. Such a model was not only acceptable for many generations on end, but it was the only way of existence for all families in all kinds of cultures. All responsibilities and duties were allocated and there were no arguments on this topic. Man was the head of the family and all serious decisions were made unilaterally. The boundaries between male and female gender roles were drawn clearly and they were indisputable.
What do we see nowadays? Today these boundaries are less discernible, because scientific and technical progress together with women's emancipation and other social processes has affected everyday life of people and have broken habits of centuries. Today many women have to fulfil purely male tasks, such as earning money, making home repairs, etc. men in turn have to cook food sometimes and help their wives to do chores when they have free time. Besides, the habit of self-service has become very popular and now it is a norm of behaviour.
It is difficult to give an unequivocal answer to the question if it is good or bad that these changes appeared. It depends. As for men they have most likely won from them, but as for women the combination of male and purely female tasks have become an excessive toil for some daughters of Eve.
It turns out and it was confirmed by social experience that practically all male tasks can be fulfilled by women. They include weight lifting, making home repairs, driving a car, etc. Men in turn can't fulfil purely female tasks. The first which comes into mind is childbirth and taking care of them without woman's assistance. However, care of children should be taken both by mother and father. It is rather a difficult task for any person to fulfil it independently. Thus, a woman can bear a child, but she is hardly able to bring it up alone. You may object, as there a lot of single mothers nowadays, but the matter is that they often resort to their own parents' support.
In general the value of different gender roles in the family is still appreciated, though it is nowadays understood differently in comparison with past times, but still people think that family responsibilities should be shared by sex.