Un-doing disrespect: women and design

Having recently attended my university's graduation ceremony, I noted again what seems to have become a global trend - design is becoming a field where the majority of practitioners are women. I have made similar observations in India, China, and the USA. The question that arises when a field, in which men were the majority, becomes one in which women become the majority is this: what does that shift mean to occupational prestige of the field and the respect women experience within it?