He-cession: The Recession is an Economic Crisis for Men

 

Eugene, OR, USA, 28 June. Men caused the global recession, and now they are the ones hurting. At least that’s what those who dub it a he-cession (or hecession) claim.

 

Eugene, OR, USA, 28 June. Men caused the global recession, and now they are the ones hurting. At least that’s what those who dub it a he-cession (or hecession) claim.

The global slump has put millions out of jobs, many in male-dominated industries. Finance, construction, manufacturing, and automotive industries have all been hit especially hard, and they are certainly male-dominated.[br]

Of the 3.6 million Americans who have lost their jobs since December 2007, 2.88 million, or 80 percent, were men. So now for the first time since men were fighting in WWII, women could form a majority of the employed in the US, according to senior economist Heather Boushey, from the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C.

“Women make up 49.3 percent of all workers. Given the stark and quickly rising unemployment among men, the question is, ‘Will women get closer to 50 percent in the not-so-distant future?'” Boushey pondered. Industries that have been largely dominated by women, on the other hand, such as education and health care, are relatively insulated from any economic shocks.

The repercussions of all these men out of work are severe, considering women earn only 78 cents for every dollar a man earns in the US.

Boushey added, “Because so many men have lost their jobs, in millions of American families, it’s the woman who’s now supporting the family. In the typical family, the man brings home a little under 2/3 of total family income, so the loss of his job is causing families to pare back their spending considerably.” [br] Monica Strauss, from the Oregon Womyn’s Association commented, “While this is painful now, it could be a much-needed reality-check for the US. Sure, we don’t want fathers and husbands out of jobs, but maybe it’s time for work and family roles to balance out a bit.”

“There’s nothing wrong with our society getting a bit more used to men doing the dishes and changing diapers while women might be accepted more at work and respected as the breadwinners. Let’s take this as a chance to deconstruct any gender roles we might have.” The he-cession is hitting the workforce in Canada as well. Following a familiar pattern, 80 percent of the country’s layoff victims are men.

And it hit especially hard in Iceland. Halla Tomasdottir, the only woman to head any of the remaining banks in the small nation, gave her thoughts on men running the banks, “Ninety-nine percent went to the same school, they drive the same cars, they wear the same suits and they have the same attitudes. They got us into this situation – and they had a lot of fun doing it.”

Icelanders reacted strongly and swiftly kicked out the all-male leaders who got the nation into their crisis, and then elected a lesbian prime minister.

In the Baltics, Lithuania recently elected its first-ever female president, who won by a landslide. With a black belt in karate and a reputation that has earned her the nickname “Iron Lady”, she’s not expected to be told what to do by any man.

But there are some who feel this gender-labeling is not productive or beneficial for society, especially in these difficult times.

Maria Hernandez, a professor in gender studies in Eugene, Oregon, said, “If we really want to heal the economy we cannot think of it as men versus women, and we can’t say, ‘Hey, look men are a dying species, this is a tragedy.'”

“We must break away from the traditional characterization of men as those who bring home the bacon, and blur the line between that and care giving.”

“We need to understand that both men and women share these roles equally, and until they are normalized between them, we will be living in the past. Let’s not pit them against each other by talking about a he-cession please.”

Vladimir Gonzalez, EconomyWatch.com