These facts are from the October 26, 2009, issue of Time. The special report is, The State of the American Woman.
[1] In 1971,the town of Red Oak, Iowa, opened a child-care center. It closed a few months later for lack of customers. Today, there are five child care centers for a population of 5,683.
Item 1 is evidence that women are working more. I think that all individuals weight the opportunity cost of staying home versus working. With innovations in appliances such as microwave ovens, vacuums, dish washers, and dryers, the value of staying home is less. In other words, the cost of not working is greater. A Prisoner's Dilemma will result if a mother stays home to raise their children and all other mothers go to work. A mother will have to go to work.
[2] There were 7 Female TV-news correspondents at ABC, CBS, and NBC out of 153 in 1972. In 2009 there are 95 out of 252 or 38%.
Item 2 is evidence that sector shifts in consumption have created new opportunities for women. As society changes from print media to digital, women are preferred to men for news delivery.
[3] On average, women consume 344 more calories per day than they did in 1974. Today, 61% are overweight, compared with 41% in the 1970s.
Item 3 shows that more fuel is needed to meet a demanding day. Also, food is relatively cheaper now than in the 70s especially carbohydrates. When stress levels are high, many eat. So women must be in more stressful occupations.
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