The Rise of Women in America – Talk to the Hand!

 

The Rise of Women in America – Talk to the Hand!

Man Up… and Step Down 

PETER ON THE WRITERS’ HANGOUT PODCAST!

Women still trail men in the equal pay department, only 10% of the CEOs at major corporations are women, no matter the changes in opportunity and earning power, women are still the major keepers of the home and children, and that glass ceiling may be cracking a bit, but it is very much a continuing reality. However, is that a sustainable social structure? An aggregation of social realities – from the skews in education favoring women over men, the application of DEI to level the opportunity field for women from athletics to corporate hiring, to a rising fervor among women protesting (from me2#, abusive bosses to discriminatory pay/promotion practices), the MAGA redefinition of “woke” manhood, the impact of remote jobs (allowing women to care for their children at home which accelerated during the pandemic) the absurdly high costs and availability of viable childcare, and the sheer numbers of more qualified women – tells us that perhaps the future of America lies in their hands. Men: get used to it.

Sure, if Donald Trump does away with democracy, MAGA values will continue to be forced on the general public. Just listen to the rantings of VP JD Vance, particularly during the campaign. Using our declining birthrate (a reality for most developed countries), he expressed a need for America to return to traditional family values where either the mother or elderly family members fulfilled the childcare need. He didn’t mention that Trump’s immigration policies would only make childcare even more expensive.

Suggesting that a woman’s place is in the home, and that the Democrats exaggerate the degree of abusive marriages and domestic violence, he maintains that divorce should be much harder to obtain. Even as his own wife is a graduate of the Yale School of Law, Vance echoes the Trump mantra that the rise of women everywhere is merely the result of overzealous application of purported DEI mandates, now severely limited by the Supreme Court. Huh? And you got elected?

Writing for the March 18th Washington Examiner (a newspaper with a conservative bent), neuroscientist, Dr Debra Soh took on the obvious changes benefitting women, while examining the impact of these changes on men (a DEI bias against men touted by the Trump administration): “A new report from the Pew Research Center speaks to the differences between American girls and boys in their educational experiences. It revealed that female students (aged 13-17) outperform their male peers academically and in leadership roles.

“Teenage girls are also more likely to pursue higher education, with 60% reporting plans to attend college after graduating from high school, compared to only 46% of teenage boys. This is a continuation of a larger trend we’ve seen of young women outnumbering young men as university graduates.

“Why aren’t men pursuing higher education? Among adults who aren’t enrolled at university and who do not have a bachelor’s degree, roughly a third of men said they ‘just didn’t want to.’ In comparison, only 1 in 4 women said the same. These sex differences are also more pronounced among white individuals than black or Hispanic individuals.

“This problem begins long before students apply to university. The educational system acknowledges girls’ needs but not boys’. The system requires sitting at desks for hours instead of lessons incorporating physical movement and sensory activities (that engage all five senses). Boy-typical behavior is pathologized. This is reflected in an increased number of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnoses in males and a higher threshold for diagnosis in females. One in 6 students also reported that teachers favor girls.

“Republicans are more likely than Democrats to believe too little emphasis is placed on encouraging boys to be leaders and to do well in school. But university campuses, like primary and secondary school classrooms, are deeply imbued with left-leaning political bias and diversity, equity, and inclusion practices that are especially hostile toward white and Asian men and conservatives.” Really? I argue that confusion in a rapidly changing world is the culprit.

As hands-on manufacturing has declined, agricultural harvesting and resource extraction have become increasingly automated, the rise of export-proof blue-collar jobs has been substantial. Skilled craftspeople in everything from the very physical building trades, with more regular hours, to automotive and equipment repair have risen in value.

Even in the military, there are a whole lot of college-educated men opting for the more hands-on enlisted ranks, noting that being elevated into the NCO ranks carries increases in pay and benefits that rival most junior and mid-level officers. When they leave the military, their skills translate well into the demands of private employers. Or, if a top enlisted soldier stays around long enough to be elevated to E-9 (in the Army, that’s a sergeant major), he or she carries the highest respect, even among commanding generals.

Soh continues: “Blue-collar professions currently make up 35% of the fastest-growing jobs, and more than 1.7 million new positions are expected by 2032. An added bonus is that due to the hands-on nature of their jobs, skilled laborers such as plumbers and electricians aren’t as easily replaced by artificial intelligence or automation.

“In today’s marketplace, it’s questionable whether a college degree maintains the same utility it once held. Only a third of college graduates under the age of 50 said their college experience was ‘extremely useful’ in helping them prepare for the workforce, compared with 45% of college graduates aged 50 and older.

“If men decide they are happier working in a blue-collar industry, they shouldn’t be castigated for this. But many male colleagues I’ve spoken to have abandoned academia in disciplines such as science, business, and law because they were unfairly penalized.” While I agree with that final conclusion, I still question why that glass ceiling remains, why women are not leading corporate America in greater numbers. Even Congress is more representative of female leadership: “A record 128 women are serving in the newly elected House, accounting for 29% of the chamber's total. In the Senate, women hold 25 of 100 seats.” Pew Research. Is this rise of qualified women over men just a swinging pendulum, a backlash that elected Trump… or the promise of a more systemic change? Time will tell.

Today, too many men don’t even want to step into the competitive corporate or senior professional world. That kind of job isn’t ever a 9-to-5 structure and is probably facing a real threat from AI systems focused on eliminating white-collar work. Even once coveted government white-collar jobs are viewed with a smug “bye-bye” smile from one of the most hated men in America: Elon Musk. Oh, he looked so manly holding a chainsaw on that political stage.

I’m Peter Dekom, and I suspect I am railing as much against putting people into immutable silos instead of looking at them as equal individuals.