Gender

Research has found that men often overestimate women’s interest in them. This dynamic can be seen through a biological and evolutionary lens, as the costs of rejection for men are relatively low (embarrassment), while the potential value of maximizing limited opportunities for mating is high (reproduction). Such misperceptions are fodder for innumerable comedies and melodramas, but also factor into far more serious situations, such as sexual harassment.

According to a 2011 U.S. Bureau of Statistics study, the proportion of women working outside the home increased more than 20% between 1970 and 2010, rising from 39% to 47% of the population. And more of these women hold better-paying positions than they did two generations ago.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, enacted in 2009, is part of a long series of laws intended to help victims of workplace discrimination achieve equal compensation, promotion and treatment in the workplace. Despite these efforts, however, such practices persist.

According to the 2010 Census, the most widely practiced participatory athletic activity in the United States is walking; other popular options include swimming (third most practiced), camping (fourth), bicycling (sixth) and fishing (seventh). All exercise has a wide range of benefits — it improves health, is a great way to socialize, and can reduce stress.

The phenomenon of increasing “job polarization” in the U.S. labor market — a sharper division of work into low- and high-skill categories, with fewer middle-skill jobs left — has been well-documented in academic literature. Technology, globalization and the decline of U.S. manufacturing are often thought to be driving this trend. But the precise dynamics are still being investigated.