Some developments may initially appear to be more favorable to one gender more than to the other, but turn out to be more even-handedly harmful.  A case in point is the contemporary need for most families to have two incomes, if a reasonably comfortable lifestyle is to be maintained. 

Even in the uppermost brackets, a two-doctor household now has about the same overall level of prosperity as a one-doctor household once did.  This means that for anyone to marry "beneath his station" means to average out a lot lower than his professional peers, and thus considerably lower his overall standing.  This knowledge forces many contemporary men to take more notice of the incomes of their prospective mates.  Accordingly, contemporary marriages between a doctor and his nurse, or an executive and his secretary, have become substantially less common than they once were—to the point that they may even begin to elicit odd looks when they occur.

When high-status men begin to feel that the only appropriate or sensible choice for them is a woman of roughly comparable status, the net effect is to counter, to some degree, the phenomenon of the "man shortage" for economically successful women.  This, on first glance, would seem to be good for women.  But there is a significant catch to the deal:

After these women get married and have children, many find it wrenching to have to leave their infants to go back to their jobs.  They would dearly love to be full-time mothers to their children, particularly while they are very young—but for reasons of practical economics, they can’t.

In the end, then, even for highly successful women, today's new opportunities have their costs