More women than men work in food preparation, one of the job categories expected to grow most in the U.S over the next decade, according to the Atlantic. photo: Give2Tech (flickr)

Are women taking over the economy?

Recent statistics show women have come out ahead of men in the U.S. recession. The Newsweek article “Women Will Rule the World” even dubbed the economic crisis a “mancession” as men have accounted for two-thirds of the 11 million jobs lost thus far. Men’s unemployment rates have also climbed to 10 percent, compared to the rate for women which now hovers at 8 percent, wrote NPR.

The Atlantic article “The End of Men" explained that the U.S. economy is shifting away from male-dominated industries like manufacturing that rely on physical strength and less-skilled labor. Instead, there are more professions that emphasize social intelligence and communication skills, like teaching, nursing and service-based industries. The consequence? More jobs where women are equally or, some argue, more qualified than men.

The face of the economy is changing, suggests The Atlantic. For example, the number of women exceeded the number of men on U.S. payrolls this spring. Men have since regained the majority, reflecting seasonal employment dynamics that make men more likely to work in summer jobs like construction, explains Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times. These advancements and others could be more a product of women playing “catch-up” rather than “forging ahead” of men, Kristof argues.

The evidence, however, might suggest that women aren't just closing the gap.

Lately, women have dominated the roots of economic success – higher education. According to The Atlantic, women hold 60 percent of bachelors and masters degrees and are expected to lead the U.S. middle class in the future.

The importance of higher education is reinforced not only by the decline of industries that rely on less-skilled, manual labor in the U.S., but also by the results of the latest recession. Workers with higher levels of education were far less hard-hit by the downturn, with unemployment rates around half the national average, explained David Leonhardt in his New York Times blog.

Women are more present in the workforce than they were in the past and their potential to revive the economy may be crucial. The Atlantic revealed that women outnumber men in all but two of the 15 job types that are expected to grow most over the next decade. These range from nursing to food preparation. Newsweek, alongside others, has touted female entrepreneurship as the possible key to future economic growth and recovery. In the U.S. alone, female-led firms grew by 20 percent versus an overall firm average growth of 7 percent.

The potential for female entrepreneurship to affect growth may be especially true in the developing world, where female education levels, wage rates and health indicators have even more room for improvement. Newsweek explored statistics from the Women’s Learning Partnership, which claim that “for every year beyond fourth grade girls attend school, a country’s wages rise by 20 percent, and the child-mortality rate dips by 10 percent.”

What does this all mean for the U.S. economy? Overall, it seems less about women catching up or taking over and more about their ability to drive the economy. But women's increasing presence in higher education, the workforce and entrepreneurial ventures, both in the U.S. and around the world, arguably positions them at the forefront of economic growth.

Could Africa be the world's next breadbasket?

Elizabeth Chiles Shelburne of The Atlantic seems to think it's a real possibility if African farmers adopted more modern farming technology and used better-quality seeds and fertilizers. And the payoff for agricultural investment would make a huge difference for poor African countries.

Agricultural investment in Africa — and in a few other high-potential places such as Ukraine and Russia — may be the world’s best bet for keeping food plentiful and cheap. This investment could bring other benefits too; the World Bank estimates that agricultural development is twice as effective at reducing poverty as other sources of growth. In Asia, as cereal yields rose, poverty rates plummeted. Investment in Africa’s agriculture — by donors, farmers, and African governments — may allow the continent to feed the world and save itself.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu sees hope for Africa with Obama's Presidency. Photo: Joshua Wanyama (flickr)

Since the beginning of the presidential election, President Obama has always had tremendous support from African nations because of his Kenyan roots. An interview done by the Atlantic Online with Nobel Peace Prize laureate and humanitarian Archbishop Desmond Tutu may help understand why Africans have rallied support for a candidate who may have similar heritage, but has never lived in their continent.

During your speech just now, you spoke elatedly about the upcoming Obama era. What special significance does his presidency have for Africans?

"We have a new spring in our walk. In Africa, we keep having to find things that say, “Yes, we can!” And his victory has said, “Yes, we can!”, even in Africa. We believe that he can make more accountable the leaders, especially in Africa. Because he can be rough with them in a way that Bush, or any other Caucasian, could not have been. They won’t be able to say, “Oh, no, this is neocolonialism,” when they’re referring to someone who is part Kenyan. So I hope he uses that particular clout.

The other side of it is that one hopes so very much that he will be able to make Africa be taken a little more seriously. And perhaps he will even increase aid to Africa, remembering his African roots. But it is so important that he couples that with saying, “We have zero tolerance for unaccountable government.”

Tutu also says that in Obama's dignity, patience and inclusiveness, he sees "the African in him." Read the full interview here.