When I started as an engineer 30 years ago, the group I worked in had 3 other woman, 1 engineer and 2 programmers. Some of the men in the group often felt it was wrong if one of the women were given good projects, or (gasp) received a promotion. Since they were men, they HAD to work to support their families. I, on the other hand, didn’t have to work. (I was single, so I’m not sure how I would have paid the rent without working.)
I was often asked if I could fix the jammed Xerox machine. I guess since the secretaries were experts with copy machines, that was a natural progression - when no secretary was around, ask the nearest woman. They seemed to forget they were engineers, and hopefully capable of fixing a paper jam.
I had my first child 21 years ago. Many older male engineers, in a grandfatherly way, assumed my 10 year career as an engineer would come to an end, especially since my husband was an engineer and could bring home the bacon. I worked for a division of a very, very large corporation. I and other women championed the idea of part-time work for some period of time after the birth of a child. I am proud to say that the division instituted a part-time/flexible schedule policy which made life quite a bit easier for all of us (husbands included). My husband and I staggered our hours to reduce the daycare hours. There was no ability to work from home, but still, this really helped.
Since that time, said large corporation has been very good to women. There is an emphasis on providing as much opportunity as possible to women with an extensive mentoring program, and, unlike 30 years ago, no “girly” posters allowed!