Why Men Fail.docx

Why Men Fail.docx

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WhyMenFail

WhyMenFail

ByDAVIDBROOKS

You’reprobablyawareofthebasictrends.Thefinancialrewardstoeducationhaveincreasedoverthepastfewdecades,butmenfailedtogetthememo.

Inelementaryandhighschool,maleacademicperformanceislagging.Boysearnthree-quartersoftheD’sandF’s.Bycollege,menareclearlybehind.Only40percentofbachelor’sdegreesgotomen,alongwith40percentofmaster’sdegrees.

Thankstotheirlowerskills,menaredroppingoutofthelaborforce.In1954,96percentoftheAmericanmenbetweentheagesof25and54worked.Today,thatnumberisdownto80percent.InFriday’sjobsreport,malelaborforceparticipationreachedanall-timelow.

Millionsofmenarecollectingdisability.Evenmanyofthosewhodohaveajobaredoingpoorly.AccordingtoMichaelGreenstoneoftheHamiltonProject,annualearningsformedianprime-agemaleshavedroppedby28percentoverthepast40years.

Menstilldominatethetippy-topofthecorporateladderbecausemanywomentaketimeofftoraisechildren,butwomenleadoraregainingnearlyeverywhereelse.Womenintheir20soutearnmenintheir20s.Twelveoutofthe15fastest-growingprofessionsaredominatedbywomen.

Overtheyears,manyofushaveembracedacertaintheorytoexplainmen’seconomicdecline.Itisthattheinformation-ageeconomyrewardstraitsthat,forneurologicalandculturalreasons,womenaremorelikelytopossess.

Tosucceedtoday,youhavetobeabletositstillandfocusattentioninschoolatanearlyage.Youhavetobeemotionallysensitiveandawareofcontext.Youhavetocommunicatesmoothly.Forgeneticandculturalreasons,manymenstinkatthesetasks.

But,inherfascinatingnewbook,“TheEndofMen,”HannaRosinpositsadifferenttheory.Ithastodowithadaptability.Women,Rosinargues,arelikeimmigrantswhohavemovedtoanewcountry.Theyseeanewsocialcontext,andtheyflexiblyadapttonewcircumstances.Menarelikeimmigrantswhohavephysicallymovedtoanewcountrybutwhohavekepttheirmindsintheoldone.Theyspeaktheoldlanguage.Theyfollowtheoldmores.Menaremorelikelytoberigid;womenaremorefluid.

Thistheoryhaslesstodowithinnatetraitsandmoretodowithsocialposition.Whenthere’sbigsocialchange,thepeoplewhowereonthetopoftheoldorderareboundtoclingtotheoldways.Thepeoplewhowereonthebottomareboundtoexperienceaburstofenergy.They’regoingtoexploretheirnewsurroundingsmoreenthusiastically.

Rosinreportsfromworking-classAlabama.Thewomenshemeetsarefloodingintonewjobsandnewopportunities—goingbacktocollege,pursuingnewcareers.Themenarewaitingaroundforthejobsthatleftandarenevercomingback.Theyarestrangelyimmunetonewoptions.IntheAuburn-Opelikaregion,themedianfemaleincomeis140percentofthemedianmaleincome.

Rosinalsoreportsfromcollegecampuseswherewomenarepioneeringnewsocialarrangements.Theusualstoryisthatmenareexploitingthenewcampushookupcultureinordertogetplentyofsexwithoutromanticcommitments.Rosinarguesthat,infact,womensupportthehookupculture.Itallowsthemtohavesexandfunwithoutanytime-consumingdistractionsfromtheircareers.Likenewimmigrants,womenaredesperatetorise,andtheyembracesocialandsexualrulesthatgivethemthefreedomtofocusontheirprofessionallives.

Rosinisnotsayingthatwomenarewinnersinaglobalgenderwarorthattheyaredoingsupersimplybecausemenaredoingworse.She’sjustsayingwomenareadaptingtotoday’seconomymoreflexiblyandresilientlythanmen.There’salotofevidencetosupporthercase.

AstudybytheNationalFederationofIndependentBusinessfoundthatsmallbusinessesownedbywomenoutperformedmale-ownedsmallbusinessesduringthelastrecession.Infinance,womenwhoswitchfirmsaremorelikelytoseetheirperformanceimprove,whereasmenaremorelikelytoseetheirsdecline.There’sevenevidencethatwomenarebetterabletoadjusttodivorce.Today,morewomenthanmenseetheirincomesriseby25percentafteramaritalbreakup.

Fortyyearsago,menandwomenadheredtocertainideologies,whatitmeanttobeamanorawoman.Youngwomentoday,Rosinargues,aremorelikecleanslates,havingabandonedbothfeministandprefeministpreconceptions.Menstilladheretothemasculinityrules,whichlimitstheirvisionandtheirmovement.

Ifshe’sright,thenmenwillhavetobelesslikeAchilles,imposingtheirwillontheworld,andmorelikeOdysseus,thecrafty,many-sidedsojourner.They’llhavetoacknowledgethattheyarestrangersinastrangeland.