In 1898 Charlotte Perkins Gilman published "Women and Economics", a manifesto that attracted great attention and was translated into seven languages.

In "Women and Economics" the feminist author criticized the historical roots of women’s cultural identities and roles in society, and argued that to constrain a woman in a household is to stunt her creative and personal development. She advocated women leaving the household and entering the working fields to achieve self-actualization. Also she talked about her idea of kitchenless house, day-care center and hired house cleaner to emancipate women from the heavy load of housework to spare more time for their professional life. Her main idea is that it is the women’s financial dependence on men which resulted in their inferior status. Therefore she advocated financial independence of women through the equal right to access to the workplaces.