In earlier times, though certainly not as prevalent today, men went off to war, or to work, while women kept the home fires, the crops, the livestock, the kids, and everyone else on their toes.

In this recession, from statistics, media (the mancession), and anecdotal evidence, women are again keeping the home fires burning - but they are not home.

They are the ones with the jobs; the ones who have gone back to work because the head of the household was made redundant. They are the only breadwinners in a previous two-income family, who have to now pick up the slack.

What does this mean? Are we in the midst of economic and social change? Is it because women are closer to achieving parity in the workplace, or have managed to keep a job because they sought more education than men in our domestic workforce?

Our economy currently has become more knowledge-based than even service-based. Reports acknowledge that the local service industry is scraping along while the muscle industries - always more susceptible to consumer economic uncertainty - are in basic survival mode.

Or, is it simply that women have traditionally taken lower-paying routine (or part-time) jobs that allow them to balance multi-family work/life demands?

Are these criteria too general and the conclusions too broad*?* I do not know the answer, but I would like to hear from you, readers.

Are you the sole breadwinner in your family?

How are you handling the additional responsibility?

On entering the workforce full-time, women have had to learn the balancing act of an expert magician, holding the home and family together. Far, far more women work outside the home than ever before; two wage earners is a necessity in our inflationary economy.

Can women manage both roles successfully while seeking career advancement?

While a US study (we emulate our neighbours more than we realise), the statistics on Women in the Workplace (www.jobsprofile.org) show that there is still much room for improvement when it comes to receiving equal pay and advancement opportunities.

There are four facts that really stand out in this report:

1. Less money. Many women still earn less for same performance on the same job, more than 23 percent less, that is 77 cents for every dollar that men earn according to www.jobprofile.org. The Gender Gap: 10 Surprising Stats on Women in the Workplace. Advanced education has been a double-edged sword for women. The more education a woman has, the greater the disparity in her wages.

2. Less opportunity. The same flexibility that allows women to take part-time, interim jobs, or the inflexibility to advance across working borders in all encompassing careers, predestines them to less savings, smaller pensions and compensation benefits. They miss out on years of services required to vest for company stock and options, for instance. Women, generally, have to work longer consistent service to accrue higher vacation packages, incentives for additional training, and access to promotions.

3. Four out of ten businesses on a worldwide basis have no women in senior management. A quick review of the boards of directors of three of our four local banks (the fourth is not a public company) and two insurance companies reveals the following: Six women out of 58 board of director positions.

4. In all virtually every field that women choose to seek employment, they can expect to earn less over their lifetime than their male counterparts. Over 47 years, this gap amounts to an estimated loss of:

• $700,000 for high school graduates.

• $1.2 million for college graduates.

l $2 million for professional school graduates.

The salary benefits wage gap disparity also looms large between young and older women even as ultimate advances in workplace compensation continue, and hopefully become the norm.

Younger women are catching up faster to men in the same professional categories. The implication is that time is not on the side of the mature professional woman.

In the Age of the Internet, I beg to differ with this, and suggest that time is not only on their side; it is waiting to be taken advantage of because of one word. Longevity.

We will explore this increasing ability and mobility of our population in a further article.

Overall, I was surprised by the research above. I remain hopeful, however, that for our daughters and granddaughters there will be compensation for performance - period - regardless of gender, race, or any other criteria, the best person for the job. Time will tell.

So, if women are so good at juggling all of these tasks, graduating at higher percentage numbers than their male counterparts, entering the workforces in greater numbers, and working longer at both home and job, we should start to see more positive changes in these numbers, shouldn't we?

Recessionary environments are tough on everyone; but with adversity comes opportunity. Set your goals to take advantage of this time and be ready for the recovery.

Next: What is happening to women at home with reversal of financial roles in the family structure? If their existing relationship with their partner has been one, where the major contributor (temporarily sidelined) was the person who managed the finances? Mature women (who have lost a partner) today may need to plan for as much as another 30 years of living and working.

Martha Harris Myron, CPA, CFP(US) TEP(UK) JP- Bermuda is an international Certified Financial Planner™ practitioner in private wealth management. She specializes in independent fee-only cross border investment, tax, estate, and strategic retirement planning services for Bermuda residents with cross-border and multi-national connections, internationally mobile people and US citizens living abroad. For more information, contact martha.myron@gmail.com or Patterson Partners Ltd 296 3528.