Ok, let say Mary married to Bill & she does not go to work. She decided to be a housewife.
Now, her husband died or divorced her. Then, should she say "I am a housewife" when someone asks her "what are you doing?".
Or should she say "I am a homemaker"?
Best Answer
No doubt, housewife is used especially for a married woman who does her household work instead of going out to earn her daily bread. But the word has a wider meaning. She's not necessarily a married woman; she could be a widow or a divorsee.
As for housemaker, you cannot use it instead of housewife.
However, if you don't like to use the word housewife for a widow or divorcee, you can use the word homemaker that's = housewife.