Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Working women on the rise
By Michael Bury
The Jambar, Youngstown State U.
February 12, 2009

For the first time, women are on the brink of surpassing men in the American workforce.

Layoffs have ravaged industries, such as manufacturing, that were previously dominated by men. This has poised women to overtake men in the workforce because industries such as education and retail, predominantly filled by women, have not suffered as many setbacks.

Between 1970 and 2006, the amount of women in the workforce has nearly doubled, going from roughly 75 million to 144 million.

According to John Russo, coordinator of the Center for Labor Studies, the shift has taken place over the past 35 years. Previously, women were relegated to the homemaker role while men were expected to be the breadwinner.

Russo said now women have more options about that they want to do with their lives.

"They don't necessarily have to be married, or they have to work because they need the two incomes," Russo said.

Mehera Gerardo, director of women's studies, said globally this isn't the case. In times of economic hardship, women tend to outnumber men in the workforce because they are willing to work for lower wages.

Gerardo also said women have always been in the workforce, but were traditionally more likely to be paid off the books for their labor.

"That doesn't mean that women weren't doing jobs that were outside of the home," Gerardo said.

Russo said that this, coupled with more men entering industries that were dominated by women, has led to the shift in the American workforce.

"We've seen auto workers and steel workers retraining as nurses," Russo said.

William Blake, director of student diversity programs, said although women are edging out men in the workforce, they are still suffering from job losses just like men.

"Even though women are rising statistically, they're still losing jobs," Blake said.

The debate whether women will continue to out number men in the workforce remains a contentious one. Gerardo believes the balance will shift between the sexes.

Russo said he thinks women will come to dominate most industries in the country soon.

"Maybe it's not going to be the best thing to marry the most beautiful women like it used to be," Russo said. "Maybe the best thing to do is marry the smartest."

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