Marriage and the Single Woman - Building Gender Balanced Business

“When it comes to what people actually want and expect from marriage and relationships, and how they organize their sexual and romantic lives, all the old ways have broken down.” — author Stephanie Coontz

MEN IN DECLINE

Of course the fact that women are now as well-educated as men and thriving in the workforce enables them to forgo marriage. But women aren’t only doing as well as men – they are surpassing them.

• Women held 51.4% of professional and managerial positions, as of last year
• Women outnumber men in both college and graduate school, earning 60% of Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees awarded in 2010
• Almost 3/4 of jobs lost in the recession were lost by men
• The year 2010 marked the first time in American history that women comprised the majority of the workforce

“For centuries, women’s sexuality was repressed by a patriarchal marriage system; now what could be an era of heady carnal delights is stifled by a new form of male entitlement, this one fueled by demographics.” — Kate Bolick

With the number of available men who are well-educated and successful becoming smaller in comparison, women are finding a scarcity of marriageable men. And because they are in demand, many of these men are less inclined to commit. Having fewer desirable men to choose from results in more women choosing to remain single.

In her exploration of marriage and singleness, Kate Bolick notes some communities where alternatives to traditional marriage are being explored or are already in place.

• The “man shortage” in Siberia has led both men and women to lobby for the legalization of polygamy
• The Mosuo people of China keep sexual relationships separate from the family unit
• In the African-American community, where 70% of women are unmarried, many women and mothers create their own familial support systems

“The sooner and better our society comes to terms with the inescapable variety of intimacy and kinship in the modern world, the fewer unhappy families it will generate.” — Judith Stacey, sociologist and author

While Bolick admits that she sometimes wonders if she has missed the marriage boat and fears a lonely future, she also suggests that the decline of marriage may bode well for the formation of new types of family units — made up of mothers, daughters, friends, or whoever makes us happy.