SO I thought, “Well, this is an australian publication,” and did some research.
From what I’ve found, it was expected for married women to stay home, but not illegal for them to work. The history I’m finding goes back to the 1800’s, so I don’t know what country she’s talking about.
There were Puritan women running taverns in the Plymouth Colony before the women back in the UK even had standing in court or to own any property or business. (excepting maybe the nobility)