TIME Special Report on How The Gender Gap is Closing
TIME Magazine’s October 26th issue featured a special report entitled “The State of the American Woman.” Their new poll suggests the gender gap is closing, especially in the workplace. “In the fallout of the Great Recession,” writes Nancy Gibbs, “what unites men and women matters more than what divides them, as old gender battles fade away.”
America’s sharp economic downturn this year hit men harder than women, and “it’s expected that by the end of the year, for the first time in history, the majority of workers in the U.S. will be women.” TIME’s survey of roughly 3,500 adults (see poll details here) found that “men and women were in broad agreement about what matters most to them; gone is the notion that women’s rise comes at men’s expense.”
Below are some results from their latest poll, occasionally contrasted with data from the early 1970’s. The visual charts and graphs were assembled by Andrea Ford and Deirdre Van Dyk. (Click on images to see a larger view)
Accepting New Gender Roles
“Large majorities, across ages and incomes and ideologies, view women’s growing role in the work force as good for both the economy and society in general. … 84% [of those polled] affirm that husbands and wives negotiate the rules, relationships and responsibilities more than those of earlier generations.” Marriages and partnerships are predominately happy, which can likely be attributed to equality between partners.
Women in the Workplace, Government & Military
More Power Means More Stress
Marriage & Motherhood
Gaps Still Exist
Women might be working against themselves, perhaps prolonging the gender gap in some circumstances:
Why might women have more trouble working under female bosses than men do?
More women feel resented than men feel resentful. Do women feel insecure wielding power in the workplace?
Sharing the Fight for Equality
The commonalities between men and women vastly outweigh the differences, and it’s evident the women’s rights movement has accomplished a lot since the 1970’s. As Gibbs reports, “It’s as though sensible people are too busy to bother bickering about who takes out the garbage or who deserves the corner office; many of the deepest conflicts are now new ones that men and women share.”
Source:
Gibbs, Nancy, with Andrea Ford and Deirdre Van Dyk. “The State of the American Woman: What Women Want Now.” TIME Magazine. 26 October 2009: 25-33