The economic downward spiral that we are all struggling with has brought women to another historic milestone: for the first time, there are now more women than men employed in the U.S. workforce. As of November, American women were 49.1% of the workforce. With the latest round of job losses -- 80% of which have impacted men, primarily in manufacturing and construction work -- there are now more women carrying the responsibilities of "primary breadwinner" than men. This isn't about women's progress. It's about men's slippage. It's also leading to new conversations -- in millions of homes across the country -- about the "second shift" work related to home and children, of which women are still doing the lion's share. Here's more perspective from Boston Globe syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman writing on what she calls, "The Curse of an Equal Workforce."
