Many economists¹ are seeing more men than women lose jobs in this recession. This is similar to previous recessions, when men have lost jobs at higher rates, mainly because more men work in hard-hit industries, such as manufacturing, banking² and construction. Many women, meanwhile, work in education and health care, which have been more recession-proof. Also, a number of women who have been at home, or working part-time, are returning to work when husbands or partners get laid off.

很多经济学家发现在当前这场衰退中男性比女性失业的要多。这和以前历次衰退相似，也是男性失业率更高，这主要是因为有更多的男性从事受到严重冲击的行业，比如制造业、银行业和建筑业。而很多女性都是在教育和医疗等比较“抗衰退”的行业工作。此外，在丈夫或男友遭遇裁员后，很多全职太太和从事兼职工作的女性纷纷重回职场。

Some experts predict that women could even surpass men in the labor³ force, for the first time in American history. Such a shift could have a dramatic effect both in the workplace and on the home front but it won't happen overnight. Even if women outnumber men on the nation's payrolls⁴, women are still likely to work fewer hours overall than men, earning lower pay and fewer benefits. Women are more likely to be in part-time jobs without health insurance or unemployment insurance, and women in full-time⁵ jobs earn just 80 cents on the dollar of their male counterparts' income, according to the New York Times, citing government data. (Having lower pay than their male peers, however, could shield some women from getting laid off.)

一些专家预测，在美国，女性的就业人数甚至可能会有史以来首次超过男性。这样的转变可能会给工作和家庭生活都带来很大的影响力──不过影响并不是一朝一夕就发生的事。就算女性就业人数超过了男性，她们仍很可能比男性的总体工作时间要短、薪水更低、福利更少。据《纽约时报》(New York Times)援引政府数据报导称，与男性相比，女性更可能从事没有医疗保险和失业保险的兼职工作，而从事全职工作的女性收入也只有男性同事的八成而已。(不过，工资比男性同事低可能会使一些女性避免裁员的厄运。)