LISBON, Mar 22 (IPS) - The huge impact of the economic crisis on
male employment in Portugal has led to a sharp increase in the
proportion of women who have become the main breadwinners in
their families. But that has not translated into progress
towards equality. "Today there is more male unemployment than
female, because the crisis has especially affected the civil
construction industry," said Anália Torres, a professor at the
Technical University of Lisbon's Higher Institute of Social and
Political Sciences. "With less economic activity in that
industry, which traditionally employs men, the male unemployment
rate has climbed, while in sectors that generally employ women,
unemployment grew much less," Torres said in an interview with
IPS. The European Commission expects unemployment in Portugal to
reach 17.3 percent in 2013. But opposition parties and trade
unions project a rate of 24 percent. Professor Anália Torres at
the Technical University of Lisbon's Higher Institute of Social
and Political Sciences.