Common misconception. Poverty levels were far higher. In 1950 half the global population lived in abject poverty. Today, it's less than 10%.

https://ourworldindata.org/poverty

Some people could. There was also a lot more abject poverty.

They had to. Outside a few vocations, women weren’t allowed to work.

And now they have to work because a single income is no longer enough. Yay for progress.

This was largely for relatively privileged people. Most families the mother worked as a teacher, nurse, domestic, secretary, nanny, etc.