Have You Been Hit By The "Man-Cession"?

   By drodriguez  Jan 26, 2010

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We’ve seen many changes over the last couple of years as we adjust to the difficulties of an economy in decline, but the latest reports coming out about the way new relationships are forming (or failing to form) may be somewhat of a revolution.  Current research is telling a story about how difficult it has become for college-educated women to find suitable mates. 

An article from the Wall Street Journal reports about a study that recently came out from the Pew Research Center.  The report shows that more than ever we are seeing wives earning more than their husbands and women attaining higher educations than men.  The Pew report states that 22 percent of men with "some college" are being out-earned by their wives.  This number is up from 4 percent in 1970.

More successful educated women are also making the decision to begin families as single mothers.  Since 1980, we have seen a 145 percent increase in the amount of unmarried college-educated women giving birth as single mothers.  And this number would be even higher if it were to include the amount of single-mothers adopting children. 

One reason for women marrying less, having a difficult time finding a husband to live up to their standards, or making more than their husbands is the current "man-cession".  The latest buzz word, "man-cession", has to do with the fact that many jobs once predominantly held by men, like construction and manufacturing jobs, are no longer in great demand during the recession.  About 80 percent of the jobs that have been lost in the recession were held by men.  Since a lot of these jobs did not require a college education, men are finding it harder to enter back into the workforce or compete with higher educated women.  They are also finding it more difficult to entice women holding higher paying jobs and higher degrees.

It doesn’t seem like the gender imbalance will even out anytime soon as we see 58 percent of bachelors degrees and 62 percent of associates degrees are currently held by women.  The current education gaps are making a lot of women uneasy about dating men that are "not on their level".  Rachel Downtain , a telecommunications project manager, tells the Wall Street Journal, that at 35 she is growing tired of waiting for "Mr. Right". Downtain says, "Going the sperm-bank method is definitely not my first choice, but I am not willing to give up my dream of having a child just because I can’t find Mr. Right.  I am having to realize that my fairy tale dream may just be inverted a bit...I may have the child before finding Mr. Right."

What do you think of the recent reports about more women finding themselves in the higher-earner role?

Have you or someone you’ve known found it more difficult to find Mr. Right because of differences in education or earnings?