in colonial america, women had fixed gender roles they learned from their mothers. growing up, a woman was legally subordinate to her father. when she was married she became a "feme covert" (french: a married woman). her property and her legal status transferred to her husband. the intent of this protected-class status was to protect women from the evils men dealt with including politics. in addition, the custom was also used to ban women from professional jobs, higher education, voting, serving on juries and testifying in court. single women were limited to the jobs of teaching and nursing.