At the height of the recession - as the housing market was in the dumps and unemployment continued to rise - we heard more and more about the “mancession.” Sectors like manufacturing and construction that tend to employ more men were losing jobs at a faster rate than female-dominated industries like health care. 

But as we see signs of economic recovery (although some may argue that 8.3% unemployment is nothing to write home about) men are starting to gain some of those jobs back. Where does that leave women? Are they benefiting from the recovery, too?

In an article for The Nation, Bryce Covert says maybe not. She notes that women’s unemployment continues to rise, but there may some relief in sight. An important point Covert makes is that male and female workers weren’t exactly starting from the same point; gender can still play a role in workplace disparities, such as wage equity.

This morning on Eight Forty-Eight, Heidi Hartmann from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research explains some of the other ways women and men may not be on a level playing field in the working world, and what policies are in place to improve those disproportionate stats. Bloomberg Businessweek editor Peter Coy also joins in to explain what the mancession really was and how it’s fading from our economic outlook.