Society's understanding of gender roles is still adjusting to the introduction of reliable birth control, I think. And to antibiotic-driven low maternal deaths in childbirth. And to urbanisation.

For all human history and prehistory, demand for reproductive aged women greatly exceeded supply. And older women who could gatekeep access to younger women had enormous power.

Now reproductive-aged women are neither scarce nor special, and gatekeeping them is very difficult in an urban environment.

Hence a collapse in attention, power and status for women as women. Especially for older and unattractive women.

Great efforts are made to return the previous status quo through coercive State action - family law, and equal pay for unequal work legislation.

Women seeking attention, power and status through traditionally male activities instead have to compete with men, and often do poorly. Hence the demand for additional State action.

I do think each generation since the Boomers has handled it better than the one before.