Overheard on NPR this morning (no link yet): 82% of pink slips over the past few months have been delivered to men. Women provided 56% of Barack’s votes, so things are working out just fine. It appears that women work disproportionately more in the public than the private sector, according to NPR’s analysis, so naturally they have more job security when the economy heads south.
Obviously, this fits well with the strategy to shrink the private sector and grow the public one, and in the process to tame the testosterone-fueled poison of free markets, competition, and initiative.
Yay, Omnibus Bum And Mouth Action.
Women enjoy a huge regulatory advantage in job competition and wider competition throughout business. Women bring value to a company that a man can’t: protection from lawsuit and regulatory risk. It’s getting increasingly difficult for men to compete against that advantage.
The disproportionate male-centric pink slip bias is actually another manifestation of the covert patriarchal violence against women and their forever oppressed vaginas…. somehow. Just give me a few hours, let my meds kick in, and I’ll connect the dots.
Well part of it is fields dominated by men such as construction have been hardest hit so far. Since most of those men are typically with women in two income households, the job losses are having impact.
I don’t know Dan, I say it fits the de-industrialization of the place like a pretty checkerboard tablecloth.
I hate to mention this, but many of my working mother friends do really not so much at all in their jobs. They usually miss at least a day a week (or “work at home” that day. . .rrrright) and are always leaving early – but when layoffs come, are somehow always spared while men are axed? And I know they are not in particularly productive jobs. Many, many women are employed in what are essentially “make-work” jobs already – and these are about 50/50 private/public sector jobs.
As an overworked, always tired freelancer, it kind of really ticks me off. I guess I need to get a “real job” – I’ll be much more relaxed. If you can’t beat ’em . . . May as well make my gender work for me!
Finally…
Justice served upon the patriarchy, by their champion, O!…
I mean, he’s always been a staunch defender of women and opponent of mysoginy…
Just ask Hillary…
BlackOrchid, males are more productive in the aggregate across the board. Women are more expensive because of absenteeism, and they outearn men in every major city at all ages at every education level.
Keeping the less productive and more expensive workers. Laying off the more productive and less expensive workers.
It makes no sense on it’s face. The only answer is in the regulatory advantage women enjoy. The laws unfairly advantage women.
I’d wonder if this is a statistical consequence of the construction industry grinding to a halt.
Oh and Dan,
If anyone is interested enough to wade through the OPM stats for 2006, the most recent year on record and n-line, they’ll also find that the US government employs a disproportionately high number of minorities…
And even more interesting is the fact that of all of the minority groups employed by the Feds, one enjoys a predominantly outscale representation; guess which one..?
http://www.opm.gov/feddata/factbook/
NO JUSTICE!, NO PEACE!
Of course, I’m a filthy RAAAAAAAAAAACIST! for pointing these facts out; even though we’ve heard so much about having the Federal workforce reflect society’s composition…
And none of this even begins to look at state and local government numbers!
Bob, why are you under the delusion that concrete facts have anything to do with FEEEEEELINGSSSS!!!!
pledge, concrete facts are a patriarchal construct.
Robert Boyle? MAN!
Yeah, its just like that patriarchal construct that putting your dick in a pickle slicer is a bad idea. I sure showed them.
They had it coming.
A quick search doesn’t turn it up, but judging by my experience, I’d bet that the government also employs a disproportionately high number of foreigners.
Pablo, that’s a good point.
A horde of unemployed, armed and angry rednecks out of work. What could possibly go wrong?
The thing I hate most about this kind of reporting, most articles pass right over the harm being done to men, so they can get right to how it “challenges gender roles” – and then to the real point – that men are slobs who won’t clean up the house or look after kids, even when they are unemployed.
A horde of unemployed, armed and angry rednecks out of work. What could possibly go wrong?
You forgot drunk, my friend. When the beer runs out, may God have mercy on us all.
I dunno. They may be more of a problem when they’re drunk. Remember the South Park Civil War reenactment?
I dunno. I still think I’d prefer careless over enraged.
Though it does remind me of something a professor of mine once said at Penn State: “The best guarantee of liberty that we have is the fact that there are two million well-armed deer hunters within a four-hour drive of Washington, D.C.”
Who knows — maybe these rednecks will ultimately prove to be a source of great goodness in our nation’s history…
You are right on steve @ 17. The way we treat men in this country is abysmal. Every statistic becomes twisted to show how bad women have it. Because, you know, now that their husbands have been laid off, they have less disposable income…
Though it does remind me of something a professor of mine once said at Penn State: “The best guarantee of liberty that we have is the fact that there are two million well-armed deer hunters within a four-hour drive of Washington, D.C.â€Â
I love it Squid! It’s going on my bulletin board. I must still be a Pennsylvania girl at heart.
Sunday links…
Photos of Chai Wallahs (h/t, Grow a Brain)
Everything about speech balloons. Cool. (h/t, David Thompson’s Friday Ephemera)
$100 billion to New Orleans. What’s to show for it?
What am I doing with my gifts?
Obama dimishes himself to serve Pel…