The Economist boasted an article last week titled "We did it!" which discusses the “quiet” revolution of women taking over the workplace. For the first the time, women will account for more than 50% of the world’s workforce, and the major contributing factor to this growth is education.

If your college experience was anything like mine at James Madison University, you may already sense that women tend to make up the majority of students on college campuses nationwide. Apparently, I’m not the only one noticing an influx of Ugg boots on campus. As a matter of fact, most colleges are seeing an increase in female applicants. According to the article, females make up the majority of college graduates in developed countries and by 2011 it is estimated that “there will be 2.6 million more female than male university students in America.”

With numbers like that, you might be thinking “Well, of course we DID it.” Naturally, with more female graduates one might expect more females to enter the professional workforce. Personally, I don’t embrace the declaration that “We did it,” I prefer to claim that “We are doing it,” because as the article further points out there may be some fine print involved.

The first clause: the Glass Ceiling. The “glass ceiling” refers to the unseen and unspoken boundaries that prevent women from reaching the upper tiers of professional management:

Only 2% of the heads of America’s largest companies are women. Furthermore, women who reach these levels of management are still paid significantly less than their male counterparts.

The second clause: juggling family. Women with more formal education tend to have children later in life. This can have a positive effect on income, but it still seems to negatively affect the way performance is measured in the workplace:

Women who prosper in high-pressure companies during their 20s drop out in dramatic numbers in their 30s and then find it almost impossible to gain their earlier momentum.

So, “We did it” only if we agree to the fine print which states that can be part of the team as long as we don’t lead it and if we do manage to lead the team we must do it for significantly less pay than we are worth. However, “We’re doing it” if we take the time to congratulate and thank our fellow working gals, while acknowledging that by finally having a place at the table we now have a place for discussing the real issue which is true equality in the workforce that goes beyond the number of females on staff and rather looks at the quality of their employment.

"onehundredeightythree/threehundredsixtyfive" courtesy of Morning theft via Flickr Creative Commons

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the monthly Employment Siuation Summary today and the results suck. Sorry. But, for the most part, they do. Another 467,000 jobs cut and an employment rate of 9.5%."'The numbers are indicative of a continued, very severe recession,' said Stuart G. Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh. 'There’s nothing in here to show that the economy and the market are pulling out of the grip of recession.'"

The Wall Street Journal chimes in with some positive information ... for women. Apparently, job cuts have affected men much more than women. "The 2.5 percentage-point gap between men's unemployment rate of 10.5% in May and women's 8% rate is the highest it's ever been since records were kept in 1948. 'The gap between female and male unemployment has never been as large as it is now,' said Sophia Koropeckyj, an economist with Moody's Economy.com."

The reason for this is relatively simple. Traditional male-oriented industries like construction and manufacturing are contracting, while traditionally female-oriented industries such as health care and education have shown a net increase. In fact, according to the Journal, "the only two private-sector industries to show a net increase in jobs from the start of the recession through May are health care and education."

So, if you are looking for work right now, those are the fields to check out (in the private sector. See this link for information on Government jobs). If your a women, keep doing what your sisters are doing. If your a male; well, it's time to buck some trends brother.

For some more silver linings in a grim job market let's go to The Links ...

Christine Hassler Advises: On staying positive in this rough job market. Christine has some interesting, if a bit unique, advice on getting out of the no-job funk. But hey, any advice that includes the phrase "Do not do anything proactive or uplifting" sounds like a successful regimen to me (BTW, I have a name for that: it's called "Weekdays.")

Cheezhead Reports: In this economic climate, a lot of employers are turning to interviews via video. Video interviews can be cheaper and less and less time consuming for companies and are seeing a growth in use. Maybe this is a good time get out your camera and polish up your on-air presence.

Forbes Warns: How to protect your online reputation. Good Read. My side note: Lots of people say, "oh I can explain that picture." What they fail to realize is that the employer is usually scared off before you get the opportunity to explain the picture ... for good or ill, this is the situation.

Careers That Don't Suck Lists: Cities That Do Suck. This lists the 20 cities with the highest unemployment rate. So you know where to stay away from.

"Women at work, 1923" photo courtesy of bobster855 via Flickr Creative Commons.

ThinkTalk would like to wish PINK magazine a Happy 4th Anniversary today! Founding Editor and CEO, Cynthia Good, was on Fox Business this morning talking about the fun new features on their website.

News on Women’s Alice Krause does a superb job when it comes to updating the world on what women professionals are doing. This blog delivers favorable and timely developments on women in varied career fields who are redefining corporate America and the way we work.

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes! -- Maya Angelou, African American poet