Men vs. Women: A Happiness Gap

A few decades ago, women’s goals in life were to have a beautiful garden, a well-kept house, and studious children. Today those goals have been upgraded: not only women want squeaky clean houses and genius kids, but they also want to have great careers, have an impact on the broader world, and look flawless.

According to the New York Times, new research has shown that there appears to be a happiness gap between men and women. Today, it’s the men who report being happier. Part of that may be due to the fact that since the 1960s, men have cut back on the activities they find unpleasant and women have replaced housework with paid work and are doing more tasks throughout the day that they find unpleasant.

“What has changed-and what seems to be the most likely explanation for the happiness trends- is that women now have a much longer to-do list than they once did and they can’t possibly get it all done”, theorizes the author.

I think that not only women’s’ ambitions have increased along the years, but so has their competition. The NY Times reports that a few decades ago, women used to compare themselves only to other women whereas now, they also get to compare themselves to men. What’s worse, I think, we now have a whole other levelof competition: celebrities and because of Internet and our ability to always be connected, women also get to compare themselves to people around the whole globe.

While research shows that there is a happiness gap, most women I know are happy and proud to be women. Maybe women are not necessarily unhappier, they just have bigger dreams and expectations for themselves. What could this mean to us? Maybe we just need to help them to be better and more efficient. Or maybe we just have to encourage them to take a break once in a while. Whatever it is, we need to remember and acknowledge that, more than ever, it takes a lot to be a woman - especially a happy one!

To read more, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/26/business/26leonhardt.html