First, the warm up: A light jog amid office cubicles to the elevator bank. Filled with liquid gold – the day’s breast milk receipts – my six-pound Pump & Go vigilantly straddles my shoulder as I make my way, gingerly dodging the judgmental eyes and last-minute questions from colleagues. I pound the call button once, then twice more for good measure, then rifle through my purse, desperately groping for the commuter ticket that will take me home to the achingly sweet babies I left at home 10 hours earlier.

34 seconds later, give or take, the air of New York City’s Times Square slaps my face. Giving new meaning to the term “rush hour,” I sprint past sidewalk prophesiers, weave through unhurried tourists and could surely hurdle the knockoff-filled vendor tables: anything to make the 5:10. Barring a highway calamity – for example, rain – I will walk in the door at around 6. Now comes “quality time”: roughly two hours when I prepare dinner; nurse an infant; entertain a toddler; hose them down; read a story; and kiss my kids goodnight.

That used to be not only my life, but the life of most very working mom I know. The good news is, today it’s different ... well, kind of. Men don’t throw quite as many raised eyebrows or “mommy track” career blocks our way. Why? Simple. They are fast becoming outnumbered. Thanks in part to the Great Recession, the number of women in the workforce is poised to overtake men for the first time in U.S. history. Men have been hit with 75 percent of the nation’s job losses. And, new research by the Families and Work Institute indicates that flexible work hours are becoming the new norm. The trend will likely continue. Projections suggest that within two decades women will outnumber men as the home’s major breadwinner. It’s great news, huh? Now we can make more money and do more housework and caregiving. Yippee!