Page 32 - HIRS - Eng
P. 32
xxx How I AcHIeved ReAl SucceSS
Statistics substantiate Śrīla Prabhupāda’s observation. A study
conducted by economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers
entitled ‘The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness’ analyzes
data regarding happiness trends in citizens of the United States
and other industrialized countries from 1970 to 2005. It states
“By many objective measures the lives of women in the United
States have improved over the past 35 years, yet we show
that measures of subjective well-being indicate that women’s
happiness has declined both absolutely and relative to men.
The paradox of women’s declining relative well-being is found
across various datasets, measures of subjective well-being, and
is pervasive across demographic groups and industrialized
countries.” 1
Feminists would be quick to point out that it simply confirms
their claim that the women are unhappy because of being
discriminated against and still much needs to be implemented
regarding achieving equality. But, as pointed out in the paper,
objective measures clearly demonstrate that the women’s
movement has been successful in achieving many of their
goals: “the gender wage gap has partly closed; educational
attainment has risen and is now surpassing that of men;
women have gained an unprecedented level of control over
fertility; technological change in the form of new domestic
appliances has freed women from domestic drudgery; and
women’s freedoms within both the family and market sphere
have expanded.” And so the paradox: “Given these shifts of
rights and bargaining power from men to women over the
past 35 years, holding all else equal, we might expect to see
1. Stevenson, Betsey, and Justin Wolfers. “The Paradox of
Declining Female Happiness.” American Economic Journal: Economic
Policy 1, no. 2 (2009): 190–225.