Judy identifies this as a "skills gap" currently emerging in the workforce, which is likely to continue to emerge as a major trend (Judy). Yet as emphasized by both Tannen and Judy, the increasing mix of workers of different genders and backgrounds will introduce new problems to the workforce at the same time as it will introduce new solutions. Traditionally, many careers have been subject to gender specific designations. Obviously, numerous broad fields of work like medicine and law have historically been dominated by men, while women have been relegated to secretarial, nursing, or other subordinate positions. In recent decades this trend has come under fire and gender is no-longer widely accepted as an appropriate way to designate workers to specific realms. However, although these stereotypical roles are not formally endorsed anymore, women are still struggling to break into male dominated spheres while men appear relatively uninterested in careers dominated by females. Improvement in achieving a more diverse and evenly distributed workforce has been observed in numerous lines of work, but opportunities for women to reach positions of power and leadership remain limited. Not surprisingly, nontraditional career roles, like female mechanics and male nurses, remain the areas most lagging in this gradual trend of change.

Although numerous fields are seeing more equal amounts of men and women holding careers, the upper levels of power continue to be predominantly inhabited by men. A recent study by Marie Byrd-Blake revealed that, "There are current inequalities in the representation of females in higher administrative positions in public schools that are a product of historical and societal patterns," (Byrd-Blake). Essentially, even in fields with as large a base of female workers as public education, the typical male position of authority is generally maintained. "The patriarchal values of white...

This fact makes it difficult to explicitly define lines of work as either traditionally male or traditionally female; although many may argue that education is traditionally female, men still dominate the upper echelons of administration. Accordingly, if one wished to define nontraditional workers they would be presented with numerous grey areas in which women dominate the field but men dominate the system.
As women began to more commonly enter the workforce in the decades following the Second World War, many sectors were widely regarded as acceptable for women while many more were not. The occupations that became traditionally female are still dominated by females, and this trend has not significantly altered in many areas. Male dominated spheres, however, are in many cases being actively sought by women; yet, often, positions of power remain difficult to attain. The traditional vs. nontraditional notions of work seem flawed because they change with time and appear to be more strictly followed within hierarchical systems than between different professions. So, as these hierarchical systems are likely to survive in some new forms, as will the differences in gender in the workforce of 2020. The fact remains that men and women interact differently in the workforce, but as the power structures within workplaces begin to be populated by women, new ways of conducing business are likely to emerge.

Works Cited

Byrd-Blake, Marie. "Female Perspectives on Career Advancement." Advancing Women in Leadership, spring 2004. Available:

www.advancingwomen.com/spring2004/BYRD_BLAKE.

Judy, Richard W. Workforce 2020. New York: Hudson Institute, 1997.

Tannen, Deborah. Talking from 9 to 5. New York: William Morrow, 1994.