One of the upsides of the recession is the impending end of the era of male dominance. Men who are more manly than their sex due to culturally-ascribed social norms of gender have been running the world for the longest time. Male dominance has had its supreme reign. Now, hard times bring about the death of macho. We are witnessing a revolution in evolution.

Finance capitalism is a macho world. With the collapse of it, the world saw the culprits of the current economic catastrophe: macho men’s clubs. The macho, thus, is its own undoing. The collapse of the male-dominated capitalistic sanctuaries is bringing about a ‘collective crisis for millions and millions of working men around the globe.’

In the United States alone, more than 80 percent of job losses have victimized men. The trend is similar in Europe. Male-dominated job sectors such as construction and heavy manufacturing are falling deeper and faster than female-dominated job categories such as public-sector employment, healthcare, and education. ‘By the end of 2009, the global recession is expected to put as many as 28 million men out of work worldwide.’

Some might argue that the reason why more job losses have befallen men than women is because there are fewer employment slots for women. But sex-disaggregated job loss statistics reveal the trend in developed regions such as the US and Europe where equal employment opportunity is a norm. In these places, women are as much employed as men. Hence, the argument bottoms out just like the state of mind called macho.

Via Foreign Policy