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CHICAGO, Feb 23, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A workplace consultant says the rise of women in U.S. workplaces has resulted in the rise of platonic couples known as office spouses.
Outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said these relationships will be essential to helping women break through the "glass ceiling."
"The origins of the office spouse can be traced to people spending more time at work with the office becoming the primary source for a new type of social interaction," said CGC Chief Executive Officer John Challenger.
"The increased number of women in the workforce makes it more likely that strong friendships will form between them and the men in the office."
The number of employed women climbed to a record 62.7 million in 2005. They account for 45 percent of all workers. In management and professional occupations, where office spouse relationships are most likely to form, women represent 51 percent of the 48.5 million workers.
"Feminists everywhere should be celebrating the onset of the office spouse because these relationships are eroding the 'old boys' networks' that have dominated corporate culture for generations and kept women from advancing to the highest levels of the corporation," said Challenger.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
