The Great Feminization thesis says that the greater that women’s presence is within a given institution, the more it takes on feminine rather than masculine priorities. Law schools in America became majority female in 2016, medical schools in 2019, and law firm associates and college instructors in 2023. The pattern repeats across professions: pioneers in the 1960s and ’70s, gains through the ’80s and ’90s, and parity, at least among younger cohorts, in the 2010s and ’20s. This has profoundly affected families, and seen something of a mirror image in trends among men.

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Working Women

Many American institutions and professions are reaching a female majority.

Divided House

Marriage, children and the two-parent home have weakened for 75 years.

Missing Men

By nearly every measure, American men are steadily losing ground (percent of first measurement).