An Equal Opportunity Crisis? 80% of Laid Off Workers Are Men
The FICRY Forces Men Out of the Workforce in Record Numbers
Women Makeup 49% of the American workforce but 80% of FICRY victims are men. Despite a nearly equal workforce presence, Dana Goldstein of the American Prospect reports, a staggering 80% of FICRY’s layoffs have been men.
Given these statistics, some feminists have enthusiastically predicted the total transformation of gender roles in American society. Forbes columnist Elizabeth Eaves, argues that “these numbers will likely have all sorts of ramifications over the long term, from transforming who does what in the family to remaking federal labor law.” Is it possible that we entered the age of the stay-at-home dad?
Not really. Goldstein believes that while the recession may favor female workers, once the economy begins to bounce back, it will be men that benefit. Policies target jobs that have suffered the highest number of layoffs, in this case, male-dominated fields. When America’s financial well ceases to be dry, the flow of money will be directed into economic sectors where men’s jobs have been axed, finance for example, and women will again face a mounting inequality.
Aftermath aside, are women really weathering the FICRY strom better than their male counterparts?
Not at all. Employment rates are not always the best indicators of economic difficulties. While women occupy 49% of the work force, they are not equally employed in “high paying fields.” Part of the reason that men have been laid off in droves is because men dominate economic secotors, like finance, where the money is big and, as of last fall, the chance of getting laidoff is even bigger. Moreover, Goldstein argues that “women are one-third more likely than men to have sub-prime mortgages, nearly 60 percent of impoverished children are living in female-headed households, and the poverty rate is higher among women than it is among men of any race.” Why this disparity? Among other factors, American women today still only earn 78 cents for every dollar a man with same job, education and experience earns.
When companies begin to rehire, will they reaffirm the same disparities between men and women in the workplace? Or does the FICRY have a genuine opportunity to transform gender roles?
By Leah Weiss, Featured Contributor, FICRY.com, edited by Cora Weiss, Editor-in-Chief.
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