The powerful world empire of 16th and 17th Century Spain eventually surrendered command of the seas to England.  The following failure to embrace the Industrial and Mercantile Revolutions caused Spain to fall behind Germany, Britain, and France in both the political and economic realms.  Although Spain was able to remain neutral during World Wars I and II, it suffered a devastating civil war between 1936 and 1939.  Consequently, during the latter half of the 20th century, Spain has tried to catch-up economically and politically to other countries in the western international community.

• In Spain, the male breadwinner - female homemaker model remained dominant until the time of the Franco dictatorship (1939-1975). 
• With the death of Franco, came democratic transition.  This period brought rapid industrialization and marked an evolution in Spanish society during which women's employment rate doubled. 
• The Spanish Constitution of 1978 marked an unmistakable turning point when it declared the legal equality of women.  Unfortunately, though, it offered little equality in social, political, and economic spheres. 
• Spain joined the European Union (EU) in 1986.
  

• Men have maintained their roles in the labor market in spite of the incorporation of women into the sphere of paid labor. 
• Although the term housewife has become less prevalant, women have not lost their responsibilities to children and the home.  Instead, they are negotiating paid labor at work and unpaid labor in the home.  
• Despite the movement of women back into the labor market, the supposed disappearance of the term housewife, and the fact that the very survival of the family depends on the income of both adults, women are not better off or more self-sufficient than before.

• Machismo - a strong sense of masculine pride, an exaggerated masculinity
• Women's negotiations between paid and unpaid labor markets
• Catholicism and religious beliefs