Shriver Report Says "Battle of the Sexes Is Over"

Is the battle of the sexes over?

According to a new report titled, "A Woman's Nation", the answer is: "Yes."

The report by Maria Shriver is being published in conjunction with the Center for American Progress and celebrates the fact that for the first time in United States history, women are about to become 50% of the workforce.

Shriver has recognized the statistic as a major shift that will "change everything" from how Americans do business, raise families and create policy. The report unabashedly says that "The battle of the sexes is over. Men and woman overwhelmingly agree on what they want in life, and how they view their roles in marriage, as parents, and in their jobs."

As we have covered before, the workforce statistic is a tricky subject. First off, as reported in the New York Times, this shift has been correlated with the recession.  As more men lost jobs in the economic crisis compared with women, this statistic for women has unfortunately come at men's expense.

Additionally, women are still losing out even when they break through the 50% margin because women come cheap (77 cents to the man's dollar), they don't typically have the same salary demands as men (part-time) and they are likely to stay put in a low to mid-level positions for a long time without asking for more money. Additionally, women still do not make up a majority of the higher ranks of government, media or business. Therefore, while women are taking one giant step forward as a statistic, they may take several steps backs in terms of actual workplace equality and pay fairness.

While this report can help educate industry and government players on the changing family demands - we cannot draw a line in the sand that says, "the battle of the sexes is over" without realizing that in many cases that line is still very much blurred for women, and men, alike. Additionally, the report doesn't seem to make a lot of caveats for women of color, homosexual women or transgender women, which makes me curious to see where those women actually stand in this debate.

In my mind, the best use of this report is not for feminist activists to wave a white flag and say, "Our work is done here" but rather, I see it as a strategic tool for Democrats to take back the family values narrative from Republicans. Long gone are the days of the "compassionate conservative" and this report from Shriver and the Center for American Progress is one more way for the left to contribute to the GOP women's problem by standing up for families around the country.

Since Democrats tend to change the landscape the most when it comes to fair pay, maternity and paternity leave, lowering health care costs for women and promoting comprehensive sex education programs - it makes sense that the Center for American Progress also wants to be seen as the mascot for family rights, childcare programs, school year calendar reform and other challenges that come with a two-paycheck family household.

As Gloria Steinem wrote over at The Women's Media Center: "The good news is that The Shriver Report is useful, timely, enlightening and even enjoyable to read-an improvement over many such studies-and could inform discussions from the kitchen table to the halls of Congress. At a minimum, it should end forever the debate about women's place in the labor force; women are the labor force...The bad news is that by its title and promotion, this report risks portraying women's arrival at 50/50 as an irresistible force that by itself 'changes everything."

I couldn't agree with Steinem more. By saying the "battle of the sexes" is over, we may produce more ignorance than understanding if the catch phrase is all anyone takes away from this report, rather than implementing the change that is outlined in it and still has yet to come.

Photo Credit: Jason Pratt on Flickr