Homemaker is a mainly American term[http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=37659&dict=CALD Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary]. Retrieved March 25, 2008.The British National Corpus contains 634 occurrences of housewife and 18 of homemaker; the BYU Corpus of American English contains 972 occurrences of housewife and 633 of homemaker. Retrieved March 25, 2008. which may refer either to:

* the person within a family who is primarily concerned with the management of the household, whether or not he or she works outside the homeSpringerLink - Journal Article

* a person whose prime occupation is to care for their family and/or home

The term homemaker is preferred by some to housewife or househusband because it is inclusive, defines the role in terms of activities, rather than relation to another or gender, and is independent of marital status. The terms stay-at-home mom and stay-at-home dad are also used, particularly if the person views his or her central role as caring for children. The euphemistic term "domestic engineer" has gone out of favor, being seen by some as satirical, as if to give a sense of mock dignity to a role held in low esteem by the speaker. Likewise, the term "housekeeper" has come to describe hired cleaning help, and is no longer used—other than in a derogatory way—to describe homemaking.

Traditionally the role of "homemaker" has been filled predominantly by women. Even to this day, homemaking is perceived by many societies as the natural role for women. In recent years there has been some political and societal backlash against feminist criticism regarding traditional roles for women. This backlash may be attributed to the recent decades' progress of the feminist movement and its implications on society, and may be compared to the backlash that took place in postwar America. The backlash could be seen, at least in part, in both the increasing prominence of "professional" homemakers such as Martha Stewart, and a rise in Evangelical Christianity which views traditional roles as being conducive to the stability of the traditional family unit and the people therein. However, homemaking is not always a lifetime commitment: many homemakers, for economic or personal reasons, return to the workplace.