How do traditional roles available to women in american society affect womans employment status?

Answer 1

The roles themselves, do NOT actually affect anyones employment status because that is determined by demand for a skill. As a female that worked male jobs for 3 decades, the traditional role had NO impact on my employment status because employers were in need of people who understood electrical circuits and the installation, testing & maintenance of technical systems.
Your skill determines your employment status, traditional roles just give people something to talk about at meetings or in classes.

Answer 2

I think more so than ever that this is based on how the woman in particular feels about the traditional roles and if she falls into any of them.

In the past employers were not regulated and were able to ask questions about whether or not a woman had children, and other related questions that would allow an employer to discriminate against women based on their traditional roles. It does still happen in a less direct manner but most women know how to handle these kinds of questions.

Often employers will still view women, especially critical staff members, as a drain on resources, because they have higher insurance premiums, figure they will most likely have kids and need maturnity leave, have more sick days, need temps to cover, etc... We will probably never escape this 100% but as women become more and more career oriented and a fixture in american business we continue to prove we can and do, do it all. I have no doubt we will continue to make strides in the workplace and create better options for women who are wives, mothers and career oriented.