Women's rising "Unhappiness" Index..

Ms. Maureen Dowd, one of the Op-Ed columnists for the NYT, writes smartly and analytically about social issues. In her recent post titled "Blue Is the New Black" she presents the rising unhappiness of women. She writes "...In the early ’70s, breaking out of the domestic cocoon, leaving their mothers’ circumscribed lives behind, young women felt exhilarated and bold. But the more women have achieved, the more they seem aggrieved. Did the feminist revolution end up benefiting men more than women? According to the General Social Survey, which has tracked Americans’ mood since 1972, and five other major studies around the world, women are getting gloomier and men are getting happier..." She goes on to mention that "...If they once judged themselves on looks, kids, hubbies, gardens and dinner parties, now they judge themselves on looks, kids, hubbies, gardens, dinner parties — and grad school, work, office deadlines and meshing a two-career marriage..."

According to Ms. Dowd, "Women are much harder on themselves than men. They tend to attach to other people more strongly, beat themselves up more when they lose attachments, take things more personally at work and pop far more antidepressants." Based on the very small sample of women I know, the part about women taking things seriously rings true in my experience. That is the primary reason I generally hired women- they paid attention to detail and took things seriously.

My comment on this topic is rather straight-forward. The widening gap between rising expectations (We can have it All!) and downbeat reality (Many of us cannot get much of what we need, and much less of what we want) could be another reason for women's higher "unhappiness" index...