Women in Britain and the United States nearly 60 years ago filled millions of jobs that had not been open to them before. While the men were conscripted to fight World War II, women took on roles previously considered too 'masculine' or physically demanding for them to handle.
When many who had worked as secretaries or clerks joined war industries, their wages almost doubled. More than eight million US women could be found working at the docks, in the steel mills and driving taxis and buses.
But it did not last long. After the war, they were told to go home to make way for the returning soldiers. And while women continue to make inroads into traditionally male-dominated roles, the two sexes have failed to capitalise on the huge shake-up of stereotypes that the war produced.
In Hong Kong it took longer for women to get their chance at 'male' jobs. Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB), established in 1933, did not hire women drivers until 1989 when it could not find male staff.
'In 1989 when our company was expanding, we could not hire enough male drivers so we targeted female drivers,' says Yeung Chiu-kap, KMB's human resources officer.
Now there are 500 women among 8,000 KMB drivers. At Citybus, which began business in 1979, there are 30 female drivers and 1,700 males.
Both companies attributed the large discrepancy in the number of male and female drivers to the lack of interest from women, with a KMB representative (who is a woman) claiming that only in the 1990s, after the introduction of new buses, did women become interested. 'Unlike the old models, the new buses are easier for women to handle. They don't have to worry about whether they are strong enough or not. There is no such barrier for women now,' adds the representative.