Perhaps it was inevitable and perhaps it is a sign of improving work conditions for women, but it appears that the recent domination of college campuses by women is spilling over into the workplace as young, college educated, female adults are now earning more than their male counterparts in many of the largest metro areas in the country.

I've written before that a significant majority of college students and an even larger majority of college graduates are women, but a study by Queens College demographer Andy Beveridge shows that all women from ages 21 to 30 living in New York City and working full-time made 117 percent of men's wages, or a median wage of $35,653, and even more in Dallas, where the women made 120 percent of what the men made. Some of the other cities where young women earn more than men are Minneapolis, Chicago, and Boston.

Other than during times of war, broad cross sections of women have never earned more on average than their male counterparts in recent history. So why has the balance tipped? Demographers point to the higher college graduation rates for women as one reason and also point to more of those women working in major urban areas where there are diverse opportunities and less gender discrimination than in smaller cities and suburbs. Women also aren't marrying as young as they used to so they're able to focus more on their careers and therefore increase their earning power.

While I agree with the above reasons, I believe that there is more to the story. I'm reminded of the story of the why the lion is considered to be the king of the jungle. Almost all animals walk with either their heads or tails held high. The analogy is that they either consider themselves to be high and others low or they consider themselves to be low and others high. They cannot raise both themselves and those around them. But we consider the walk of lions to be majestic because they walk with their heads and tails held high. They seem to understand that they need now lower those around them in order to raise themselves up high.

The demographic story of women earning more than men is kind of like the issue with lions. Women aren't raising their earnings by lowering the earnings of men, but women are earning more than men in part because women's earnings are rising and in part because men's earnings are slipping. Fewer men are attending college and even fewer are graduating. More are dropping out of the education system to start their own businesses.

While that will likely pay dividends for many and perhaps most in the long-term, those of us who are entrepreneurs understand that the first years in a business are typically lean, so these young, male entrepreneurs are earning less now than they would be in corporate environments. So far, young women have not flocked to entrepreneurship like their less risk averse male counterparts. So, women are increasingly earning the large corporate salaries while their male peers are struggling to get their businesses off of the ground.

So where is this taking us? Over time, expect to see large corporations increasingly dominated by women and small organizations increasingly dominated by men. As is normally the case with demographic shifts, there are many reasons for the shifts and some of those reasons are obvious, some are subtle, and some don't become known for years until we have the benefit of 20-20 hindsight.

Steven Rothberg is the President and Founder of CollegeRecruiter.com, the leading job board for college students hunting for internships and recent graduates looking for entry level jobs and other career opportunities. Steven can be reached at Steven@CollegeRecruiter.com or (800) 835-4989 x704.