Is The Battle of the Sexes Over?

A recent article in Time Magazine, spurred by a study done in conjunction with the Rockefeller Foundation, gives a sweeping and somewhat startling look at the state of women in America today. Primarily concentrating on economic and social status, the article concludes that women have never been more powerful -- financially, politically, and domestically. The stats speak for themselves:

- Almost 40% of all women are the primary breadwinner or providing essential income in the home.

- For the first time in history, women make up the majority of the workforce.

- College campuses are now 60/40, in favor of women, with close to half of all law and medical degrees going to women.

- Half the Ivy League presidents are women; three of the four most recent Secretaries of State have been women; two of the three top news anchor positions are about to be filled by women.

So, that raises the question, is the Battle of the Sexes, begun over 40 years ago by 60's style feminism, over? One could point to other indicators that seem to imply it's not:

- Many professions remain mostly male, such as hedge-fund management, surgeons, civil engineers.

- Women still only earn 77% of what men earn.

- Women do more work in the home.

However, looking at the overall picture, one can't help but step back in awe at the way women have addressed the inequalities surrounding them so intractably just a few generations ago. Women are becoming richer, more influential, more powerful, freer, and the trend only looks to be going in the right direction. Indeed, as the author of the article states, one can imagine in a generation or so the discussion being about how we can work to help men realize their full potential in an attempt to heal society of its ills (as is so often said of women now, especially in relation to developing countries).

My assessment is that the battle is over, but small skirmishes still exist on the fringes among those who haven't yet heard that we're all on the same side now. And that is truly good news.

Photo via Flickr.com.