Paternalism probably has prevailed for most societies since the beginning of humans and their fossil ancestors. But the changes I have witnessed during the six decades of my adult life indicate to me that we could be on the cusp of a maternalistic or feminist society.
And if that’s really what’s happening, I’m willing to give the girls and ladies credit — because they certainly have earned it.
Ever since my time in elementary school, I have noticed how most girls have shown more interest in learning about a wider variety of subjects than the boys. With but few exceptions, the girls usually were the smartest students in my classrooms. We boys almost always seemed to be more interested in what we could be doing outside.
And then, my early working years coincided with the growth of affirmative action programs — developed to offset discrimination against racial minorities. Those programs usually included women as well. It never seemed quite right to me to view women as a minority, but I did see a need to assist women against jobs discrimination.
Those programs definitely have provided some assistance for women. At the same time, however, they prompted many businesses to hire women at lower salaries and wages. But that gap has been narrowed in recent years.
The changes first became evident to me in the newsrooms of various publications. Often, when a male editor left, the new hire was a female. And since, I’ve noticed how women have gained tremendously as they seem to be hired more often than men in top management positions.
But again, I must repeat, they usually earned the position because of their education and conscientious work experience.
That’s why today we see so many women judges, women news anchors on TV, and a growing list of women CEOs as “chairmen” of corporate boards. Women repeatedly have shown that they can juggle family life with children and excel in work performance.
Also, in case you hadn’t noticed, more and more women are not only being elected to our city and county boards, but also to our state legislatures and U.S. Congress.
And, I must add, I am very glad to see that happen. In many ways I feel they are well prepared to do a better job of governing than the dysfunction we’ve observed in the power-hungry men. Women tend to be more family oriented and will display the empathy needed to reverse the growing inequality our country has experienced in recent decades.
As a result, women have advanced to the point of letting men behind — because many men, young men especially — have failed and are failing to keep up with women.
The statistics and our news media headlines indicate we can expect more of the same in the future as we read about the growing economic, political and gender gaps between young men and women.
The articles and reports I’m reading indicate young men are losing choice jobs to women and are reluctant to take other positions traditionally filled by women. I surmise, however, that the young men need to realize it’s their own fault for failing to better prepare themselves with appropriate education and training.
One story by Moneywise magazine reports that millions of men are dropping out of the workforce at an alarming rate.
And in an opinion story for CNN, Scott Galloway, marketing professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, reports young men are failing in “a number of critical measures, including economic security, socialization and education.” He notes that masculinity issues are a part of the mix.
The Moneywise article adds that poor mental and physical health also are factors, perhaps as a result of failures in social activities as well as employment and education.
On education failures, Galloway says, “Men now account for 41% of college enrollments, down from nearly 60% in 1970. If we talk about graduation rates, it gets even worse: Since men drop out at a faster clip than women, in the next five years there might be two female college graduates for every one male.”
So all of this tells me that without some dramatic changes, we can expect a growing female domination of the economy — and then politics, too — for the coming decades.
Darrell Berkheimer is a retired journalist whose career spans nearly 60 years. He was city editor and news editor at The Daily Herald in Provo during the 1970s and ’80s. He also filled newspaper editor positions in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Texas and New Mexico, and is the author of several essays books. Contact him at [email protected].