The Shifting of Roles

I just read on Twitter that 80% of recent job loss as been suffered by men.  My Twitter follower, the fabulous Kelley Skoloda, partner/director at Ketchum Public Relations and author of a new book, "Too Busy to Shop:  Marketing to 'Multi-Minding' Women," asked if this new "state of the union" so to speak would mean that more men would be involved with activities such as shopping, PTA, etc.  and would they be changing the landscape of these typical "mom-led" programs and activities.  Great question.  

I have noticed a few more Dads picking up kids after school and rushing to get children to those wonderful after school sports programs that start right at 4:30.  And just today, while shopping at Trader Joe's, I saw at least three Dads pushing the cart while their little ones were strapped safely inside dropping produce on the floor.  This influx of "stay-at home" Dads (even it if is just a temporary "stay-at-home" situation) can also mean more Moms in the workforce and that is certain to change the landscape of parenting.

But how?  So what if more Dads are involved in room parties and field trips and Moms are not always the ones to make school lunches and attend orthodontist appointments?  Haven't we moved away from the more gender-specific tasks of the past and embraced the concept of true partnership parenting?  Regardless of how much we have evolved, the fact remains--men and women are different.  We approach things differently, we think about things differently and we react differently.  

I'm not being sexist--I believe women can do anything they want to do, but they will do it differently than their male counterparts.  Same goes for men getting more involved in traditionally "women-led" activities--they will do it well, they will just do it differently.  

Should be interesting to see how this develops.