Why more men will soon find themselves doing "women’s work"

As economist David Autor pointed out to me in a recent conversation, few Americans are shedding tears for the loss of secretarial jobs in the United States, yet that field has disappeared for women, just as surely as factory work has declined for men. The difference is that many less educated men have struggled to find good jobs to replace it, while many women have generally moved to expanding and more lucrative fields, he said.

“We know in general as the labor market has become more skill intensive, women have educated themselves and adapted by moving quickly into other jobs,” Autor told me. “Women have moved on and up.”

There are a few traditionally male jobs that are set to grow in coming decades, including ambulance drivers, emergency medical technicians, personal finance advisers, Web developers, computer scientists and actuaries, according to Kolko’s research.

But given the broader trends in the U.S. economy away from manufacturing and toward services, other American men may need to move into traditionally female roles in coming years if they want to thrive.