GenderWars in the Downturn

Gender Wars in the Downturn

From Menletter March 2009

By Tim Baehr

Last February several news articles noted that, with some 82 percent of the job losses being incurred by men, the workforce is approaching gender equality. The proportion of women in the workforce was 49.1 percent in one of the latest surveys.

Some of the other statistics were disturbing. Women trying to take up the slack in employment are being paid about 80 cents on the dollar compared to men. Laid-off women often picked up more childcare duties. Laid-off men were either doing the same or less. One male TV commentator said he was "ashamed" on behalf of his fellow men.

One more thing: If the recovery is going to start with investments in "shovel-ready" infrastructure projects, who gets to hold the shovels? Oh, my - they will be mostly men. But if that seems inherently unfair, consider that 82 percent of the jobs lost so far were, figuratively speaking, accomplished by ripping the shovels out of the hands of men in the first place. The fact that the vast majority of job losses were by men isn't based on some sort of conspiracy against men. The job losses were in industries populated mostly by men - the hard, physical, dangerous work that women aren't exactly clamoring to get.

The newspaper articles (here's one from the New York Times: http://tinyurl.com/NYTimes49) sought out anecdotes from couples facing layoffs and got experts to offer their opinions. It's hard not to generalize from anecdotes and sound bites.

Let's have a closer look.

It may be true that, on average, across all jobs, women make 78 to 80 percent of men's pay. Warren Farrell, in Why Men Earn More, dug deeply into government statistics and found that, when all factors are taken into account (seniority, training, level of physical or financial risk, number of hours worked including unpaid overtime, willingness to travel, and several other factors), the supposed pay gap all but disappears. And in some highly regarded fields like engineering, women earn more.

One of the articles cited data regarding domestic chores. When I went to the website of the data, I couldn't find data newer than 2006. The narrative around us men's "shameful" lack of child-care pitching-in is damning: "[T]hey instead spend more time sleeping, watching TV and looking for a job, along with other domestic activities."

If we take a more benign look at this narrative, we could come to some conclusions other than shameful.

A man laid off from a very demanding job may be surprised to find that he is exhausted. Adrenaline, coffee, and a sense of duty may have had him surviving on six hours of sleep for years. When the pressure is finally off, he sleeps. Sleep study people have noted that sleep-deprived people can go for several weeks catching up, often sleeping 12 to 13 hours a day. Anecdote: This happened to both me and my wife in the months immediately after we retired.

Watching TV isn't usually very satisfying, but it can dull some of the rotten feelings we have when we're laid off. Even when we know that we weren't at fault, losing a job is a huge blow to the ego. Someone didn't like us or value our contribution. Self-medicating with daytime soaps may be a reasonable short-time solution - better than drinking anyway. The articles I've seen didn't specify how much TV laid-off men were watching, but if you're finding yourself stuck in a daze in front of the tube, it may be time start taking walks or rake the yard.

Looking for a job, according to employment experts, is the primary job for someone out of work. I know from experience that it can be a grueling, time-consuming, nerve-wracking job. A man who was bringing in all or most of the family's income is under tremendous pressure in a job market that has gone to hell. Anecdote: The New York Times article does acknowledge this: one man out of work since January 2008 spends 35 to 45 hours a week looking for work.

"Other domestic activities" wasn't specified in the New York Times article or anywhere else I looked. Anecdote: During one of my longer layoffs I rebuilt a rotting porch. Could it be that similar things are happening nationwide?

Let's try to keep some perspective on this. If you haven't lost your job, count your blessings. If you have lost your job, don't let news articles with questionable statistics and superficial analyses make you feel worse. It may be helpful to repeat the mantra "I am not a statistic."

And (whether you're employed or not) if there's an imbalance in how domestic chores are distributed, talk - negotiate - be flexible. The goal should be that you and your partner are working as a team, as partners, not as opponents. But let's keep in mind that every family is different, and every family's successful solutions are unique.