The Great Recession was hell on everybody, but it was a particularly hellish time for men. The housing collapse and financial crisis tag-teamed to gut industries like construction and manufacturing that had been traditional bastions of male employment for decades. Women reached nearly 50% of the work force. And many have wondered whether the Y chromosome is about to become a permanent economic liability. The Atlantic ‘s own Hanna Rosin captured the question brilliantly in her piece, ” The End of Men .”

But there’s also a less talked about story about gender and the recession. Men may have fallen harder. But during the country’s sluggish recovery, they bounced back faster. And in the current rickety job market, women may be facing the tougher road ahead.

A chart from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research illustrates the disparity between job gains for men and women since the economy began to turn around. The data is drawn from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ payroll survey.