The Recession Has Not Improved Job Discrimination Against Women

The U.S. Government Accounting Office (GAO) has analyzed the American Community Survey data for 2000 through 2007 to see if there was any noticeable effect from the recession on gender inequity in the labor market. Several conclusions emerge from this analysis: (1) women continue to be paid less than men for doing the same work, but the recession did not seem to affect this one way or the other; (2) women continue to be less likely than men to be in management positions than men, but the recession did not seem to affect this one or another; (3) children are "to blame" for some, but not most, of the disadvantage of women in the labor force, but the recession did not seem to affect this one way or the other; and (4) the recession hit men harder than women, so the income of women in households has been disproportionately important during the recession. It seems obvious that the recession hit men harder than women precisely because they make more money than women. Thus, the discrimination (largely by men) against women in the labor force turns out to lead to an implicit discrimination (probably also by men) against men when it comes time for layoffs.