A sexist recession
The recession, if that’s what we’re in, has developed a sexist streak. Women may complain of a glass ceiling, but men are being shown the door.
From November through April, men lost almost 700,000 jobs, while women gained 300,000, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
BusinessWeek explains that this recession is hitting hardest at mostly-male industries, mainly construction, but also manufacturing. Industries with large female work forces, such as education and health care, are holding up better.
The recession is temporary, of course, and men on average still earn more than women. But I wonder about another trend.
Income correlates strongly with education, and we’re now producing more well-educated women than well-educated men. In 2005, women made up 54 percent of college enrollment, and the gap seems to be growing. As of that year, 43 percent of college-age women were in college, compared to 35 percent of men.
The glass ceiling on female promotions is already filled with holes. If the gender trend in education continues, the ceiling may be shattered by the sheer force of numbers as well-educated women press up from below. Would the pay gap then narrow or disappear?
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Jim Gallagher is an editorial writer covering business, economics, development and the state of Illinois. Before joining the editorial staff in 2002, he spent 29 years as a reporter, half of it hiding from business editors and half avoiding city editors, with middling success. He wrote a column on personal finance for eight years. He lives in Clayton with his wife Susan. 
“BusinessWeek explains that this recession is hitting hardest at mostly-male industries, mainly construction, but also manufacturing.”
When the economy was tanking in late 2000, BusinessWeek the Post-Dispatch and every other liberal publication was tongue tied, waiting for the official measure, two consecutive quarters of negative growth. Since we haven’t had even one quarter yet, would Mrs. Gallagher declare everything premature?