When Hanna Rosin was researching her book, «The End of Men and the Rise of Women,» she studied facts and statistics. And while the book may have been titled to spark discussion and publicity, what Rosin’s data lays forth are the facts behind the emotionally-fueled debate of who belongs in what kind of job.
The economy is changing, Rosin, now the co-host of the NPR podcast «Invisibilia»found, and those changes are favoring women.
Rosin spoke recently to the Women Presidents Organization’s as part of the annual conference in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Here are five takeaways from her discussion.
1. Women entering the workforce created more jobs for women
When women began entering high-end fields in the 1960s and ’70s, they looked to hire help to oversee work around the house. These jobs, traditionally done by women in the home, became careers: child care, eldercare, housekeeping, and food prep. Women filled these positions, too, bringing more and more women into the workplace.
2. The Great Recession hit men the hardest
Of all of the jobs lost since the recession in 2008, three-quarters of them were held by men. Among the 15 job categories projected to grow, according to Rosin, are careers mostly dominated by women. «We used to think of the economy as an economy of manufacturing, of the hands… now it’s the mind and the smile,» Rosin said. «That put women on a different footing to men, it meant the doors were open for them in a completely different way than has ever been true historically.»
3. Having more than a third of an office consist of women changes the culture between women
People often say that women aren’t supportive enough of other women or create a «catty» office culture, but Rosin’s data indicates that once more than a third of an office is women, there is a shift. Instead of seeing one another as tokens or competition, women begin to feel more comfortable with their standing in the office and things get less cut-throat.
4. Marriage is becoming a class luxury, but the college-educated are happier than ever
College-educated couples are happier, with fewer divorces, than their non-college-educated counterparts. Rosin calls the former «see-saw marriages,» where there are fewer gender restrictions in the marriage and the couple often trades places in who is making more money. She points to Barack and Michelle Obama or Joe and Jill Biden as examples, two couples of independently successful professionals. In more conservative, religious areas, however, rates of single motherhood and divorce are high — an alarming statistic, Rosin says, as it suggests that marriage is becoming a class luxury.
5. The creation of a nostalgia for the old days
How did the trends above lead to the divisive opinions we’re seeing now in America when it comes to gender equality in the workplace? «The economic power of women has created a sense of nostalgia in some areas for the old days,» Rosin says. A third to 42 percent of women are now the primary breadwinners in their families, creating tension with men who have lost jobs in manufacturing or other struggling industries. Job fields that are growing — such as education and health care — aren’t seen as masculine enough industries by society for these men to transition into them. Men are feeling left behind as women fill what’s needed in the work force, and instead of adapting with them, are left feeling nostalgic for the old days.
