By Michael Schindler

The job market reports have been pretty bleak lately – and word on the street is if Congress can’t come to some sort of agreement here in the next five months, another 2 million jobs will be lost.

If you’re a woman, I’d be concerned.

A July 23rd article in Time Magazine stated that since 2009, governments have cut close to 650,000 jobs – most of those positions are in teaching or local government staff positions that are usually held by women. The article goes on to say women’s education and experience are “less likely to match openings in growth areas like technology.”

The numbers don’t lie. Only 14 percent of 2010 computer science majors were women…and the top fastest-growing industry that is projected for the next five years is in the high-tech arena — more specifically, social networking. If you want to learn green construction or how to pitch relaxation drinks, those industries are also projected to grow, but women are underrepresented in those areas as well.

The National Women’s Law Center calculated that for every 10 women who landed a private-sector job in the recovery, four women in the public sector have lost a job. For men it is a ratio of 10 to 1.

Bottom line: It’s best to be a man in today’s marketplace.

Here is something else to consider – the military drawdown is coming, military promotions will stall and some one million individuals will cycle out of active duty back into the civilian marketplace over the next four to five years. The job market will be even more competitive.

So, if you’re a woman, now may be a great time to brush up on your social networking skills. Now excuse me while I go add a Facebook account for my 6- and 9-year-old daughters.

Michael Schindler, Navy veteran, and president of Edmonds-based Operation Military Family, is a guest writer for several national publications, author of the book “Operation Military Family” and “The Military Wire” blog. He is also a popular keynote and workshop speaker who reaches thousands of service members and their families every year through workshops and seminars that include  “How to Battle-Ready Your Relationship” or “What Your Mother-in-Law Didn’t Tell You.”  He received the 2010 Outstanding Patriotic Service Award from the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs.