A new term sweeping through the HR world has employment lawyers all a-flutter. The term? ”Mancession.”

It appears to have started with this New York Times article and picked up momentum yesterday after Business Week ran a piece entitled Women: Nearing a Majority at Work?

What exactly is the “Mancession”? Basically, the recession appears to be hitting men harder than women. As a result, for the first time in U.S. history women very nearly represent the majority of the workforce. Based on nonfarm payroll data released last Friday, here are the latest numbers . . .

MEN: 50.17%
WOMEN: 49.83%

That’s the closest ratio on record.

What are the potential HR and employment law implications? Plenty, if you believe some of the Twitter-y and blogg-ish chatter out there:

  • Some appear to assert that this stat — combined with the Supreme Court’s recent firefighter decision — will fuel a plethora of “reverse discrimination” suits that could call into question the very purpose of Title VII and similar anti-discrimination laws.
  • Others assert that focusing on the overall shift ignores the gender wage gap and the disproportionately low representation of women in managerial roles.

It’s a very interesting debate. Stay tuned to see how this plays out.