The Great Depression affected men and women in different ways. While men's employment rates dropped during the period, women's employment rate actually increased. Men, after finding themselves out of work, now had to rely on their wife and children to support the family. Although women as a whole could not end the Great Depression, the country would've never gotten through the situation without women's contribution ("Women and the Great Depression). Women sometimes even had to work outside the home which caused discrimination against women because some people thought women were taking away jobs from men. By 1930, about 10.5 million women had worked outside the home. Women who were widowed or divorced struggled to keep their families well and fed. As well for single women, they had to look out for themselves. The Great Depression also changed the family in dramatic ways. Many couples delayed marriage and the divorce rate dropped greatly since it was too expensive to pay the legal fees and support two households. The birth rate had also dropped below the replacement level for the first time in American history. The Great Depression had left an "invisible scar" on those who lived through it, including the women in the country. Being forced to take on even more important roles in their home and families, women played often unrecognized roles in society to help the country get through the Great Depression ("Women, Impact of the Great Depression on").