Perhaps the reason women are becoming "breadwinners" in record numbers isn't so much a "challenge to longstanding gender roles," as the New York Times would have it, as it is a confirmation of those roles: Women work more flexible hours, under worse conditions, for less money. Hence, when it's time to cut, the more highly valued male workers are the first to go. (Conversely: No paternity leave for you! See also: Wartime employment and subsequent postwar backlash.) And the trend of women-as-breadwinner, of course, doesn't imply gender parity; as the Times story itself acknowledges, women whose husbands are unemployed are still "likely to remain responsible for most domestic duties at home."
Related: The Wall Street Journal's work/life balance blog advises those readers whose spouse's career is on the rocks to stop criticizing, seek counseling, and be patient. However, it should've specified that those suggestions only apply to wives: Every single example in the post is of the emasculated-unemployed-male variety.
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