Women Out-Earn Their Husbands But Still Do More Work at Home
According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, the share of women who earn as much as or significantly more than their husbands has tripled over the last half-century. Today, 55% of opposite-sex marriages have a husband who is the primary or sole breadwinner, down from 85% 50 years ago. About 16% of opposite-sex marriages have a breadwinner wife, a jump from just 5% 50 years ago. Today, spouses earn about the same amount of money in 29% of marriages, up from 11% in 1972. But as women’s financial contributions increase, they still manage more household chores and caregiving responsibilities. In marriages where husbands and wives have similar earnings, women spend roughly 2 hours more a week on caregiving and about 2½ hours more on housework [1].
Earnings between spouses differ by demographic. Among wives overall, Black women, those with a four-year college degree, those ages 55 to 64, and those with no children are most likely to be breadwinners in their marriage [2]. Black wives – more than wives from other racial or ethnic groups – are 26% more likely to out-earn their husbands. Smaller shares of White (17%), Asian (14%), and Hispanic (13%) wives are breadwinners. In 2022, the wife was the breadwinner in 25% of marriages when she had more education than her husband, compared with only 11% of marriages when she had less education than her husband. Among wives ages 25 to 34, 11% are the breadwinners in their marriages, whereas 22% of wives ages 55 to 64 out-earn their husbands. Married mothers with children are less likely to be breadwinners than those without children: 20% of wives without children out-earn their husbands, compared with 15% of wives with one or more children. Among couples with at least four children, 69% of husbands were sole or primary earners [3].
About half of Americans (48%) say most men married to women desire to earn more than their wives. Only 3% believe most men prefer a wife who makes more than they do; 13% say most men prefer to earn about the same as their spouse. 22% of Americans think most women want a husband who makes more than they do, 26% think most women want to make about the same as their husband, and only 7% think most women want to make more than their spouse. The way working parents divide their time between work and family life has implications for their children. 77% of Americans believe that when children are raised by a mother and a father, they are better off if both parents focus equally on their careers, caregiving, and housework [2].
Husbands taking more responsibility for childcare and housework would benefit women, but individual actions are unlikely to have a significant impact. Policy changes, such as establishing affordable healthcare, national paid parental leave, and more remote working options are the key to changing these social statistics. With effective policies geared towards working families, Americans can rebalance household responsibilities [4].
Sources:
[3] https://fortune.com/2023/04/13/more-american-women-becoming-breadwinners/
