In a groundbreaking study by Penn State and Ohio University (The Myth of Men’s Stable, Continuous Labor Force Attachment: Multitrajectories of U.S. Baby Boomer Men’s Employment by Adrianne Frech, Jane Lankes, Sarah Damaske, and Adrienne Ohler), researchers have unveiled the complex nature of American men’s workforce participation. Contrary to the long-held view of steady employment, only 41% of baby boomer men followed a consistent work trajectory. This finding challenges traditional notions of the male breadwinner role and its impact on men’s health, social status, and economic stability. Context The study published in Socius critically reassesses the ‘lockstep progression’ of men’s employment, traditionally seen
Even with power tools, an average man can work faster than the average woman for many tasks. They’re going to be the exact same in an excavator where there’s no physical component at all, but when it comes to using a jackhammer an average man is going to be able to position and control it far more effectively than an average woman. Power tools make those differences smaller or non-existent for SOME tasks, but they do not make things equal in most tasks.
I realize construction isn’t purely a strength thing, but it’s a major component for most workers and even a 5-10% efficiency difference is quite significant across an entire industry. Construction is just a single example though, there are hundreds of jobs that have significant physical components. From the original comment about electrical Lineworkers, all the way to washing dishes in a commercial kitchen.
The ability to lift 40-50% more weight around on average comes in handy a lot.
I don’t think I’m overstating the importance of physical attributes in terms of job performance, we’re not talking about office jobs here. In physical jobs, someone’s physical attributes will drastically change how fast someone can work, and often how safely as well.