In colonial America, women were considered the weaker sex. They have always been treated "less" than their husbands. Sometimes men dominated women's lives. They were expected to obey their husband's orders without question or argument. They had practically no rights. In fact, unmarried or widowed women had more rights than married women! Married women could not make a will without their husband's formal consent, could not buy or sell property, could not make a contract, could not vote, and could not sue or be sued. Unmarried/widowed women could do all of these things, and more. Widowed women received as much as ⅓ of the interest on their deceased husband's assets. Married women were like slaves. Women's work was very demanding and difficult. They were expected to help the men with a variety of hard labor tasks. They had traditional jobs like running the house, raising children, cooking, making clothes, etc. Women usually cooked over a fire or in a brick oven. Housework was especially hard, because there was always dust coming from open fires. They had to spin, weave and have clothes made. Women were usually the only doctors around. They usually tried to cure the sick with herbs and other plants. It was probably very difficult for women to stay in their homes for most of the day, due to the poor conditions of the house. It was drafty, there was no running water, there were no indoor toilets, etc. There were no antibiotics or other medicines at the time, so many people died from even the slightest cut. The first antibiotic was discovered only in 1888. Women were the first educators. When not doing housework, women usually taught teenage girls reading, writing, arithmetic, and history, if they were lucky. The boys and men were usually out working while the girls had class. Wealthy women in the colonies were usually wives of lawyers, judges, congressmen, mayors, etc. Wealthy women usually had elaborate dresses made of velvet, satin, and silk, while middle- and lower-class women usually had to sew and weave their own clothes. it's probably safe to say that wealthy women had simple jobs compared to other women. The main role of wealthy women was usually to plan social events, parties, etc. They had to do little or no manual labor because they usually owned chained slaves/servants. They usually had tutors who taught their children to read and write. In colonial times, all women were mostly expected to marry someone chosen by her parents.