by Kelsey Zimmerman
The United States may have officially entered the age of woman. At least, that was the tagline for an article I encountered a couple of weeks ago. Primarily, it concerned the positive news that only a little more than fifty years after entering the workforce in World War II, women now constitute more than fifty percent of the workforce in the U.S. Those aren’t the only signs of the changing times in workforce either. Four in ten women are the primary breadwinner for their families, a huge increase from even a generation ago. Even the pay discrepancy between women and men no longer exists in some cities. Researchers found that in some large cities like New York women actually earn more than men that are in similar jobs.
This news highlights how rapidly gender roles are changing in today’s society. In education, where women were once expected to not even finish high school so they could take care of their family, now women make up the majority on most college campuses. In fact, in 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Education, women will earn more degrees than men in higher education in every possible category and in a big way too. For instance, in the case of master’s-level education, women earn 159 degrees compared to only a 100 for men. Even in traditionally “non-female” fields like mathematics, women now receive 30% of math Ph.D.s, way up from a mere 5% in the 1960s.
Women are becoming a dominant power in almost every way. The World Bank recently estimated that by the year 2014, women will have a global spending power of $18 trillion dollars, up from an estimated $5 trillion today. In the U.S., women are 80% of the fiction market and read an average of nine books a year compared to men’s four. The New Hampshire state legislature recently became the first in the country to be made of a majority of women, following the national trend of more women entering politics at all levels. Single women are even now purchasing twice the amount of homes as single men.
Even the way the traditional American family functions is changing. As women work more, the division of labor at home is heading into murky waters. Many men are becoming “Mr. Mom” as they take on unfamiliar tasks like childcare and housework.
Some experts are saying this could be a beneficial change for both genders. As women and men struggle to balance the shifting gender roles in today’s world, it could lead to more equality for everyone.
