More wives outearning husbands

[janinegirly]

I found this article interesting--kind of confirms a trend I''ve seen around me. The interesting part will be to see how it impacts societal roles going forward, at home and in the workplace. If women are increasingly educated and being identified as breadwinners, the working world will have to adjust (increase options for work-life balance and promotions above the glass ceiling). Or perhaps this will lead to more stay at home dads (something I also have seen increasing among my friends).

http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/19/news/economy/married_women_salaries/index.htm?hpt=T2

 

[D&T]

Seems like it.... our friend was in advertising... economy turned, he got married to a doctor, she works full time, he is now a stay at home dad for the time being, but still freelances on the side

me.... I outearn DH for the time being. It will be interesting to watch to see how our nation will adjust.

 

[princesss]

I heard about this on NPR on my way to work today. Very interesting, and definitely confirmed by what I''ve seen among my circle of friends.

 

[kas baby]

This is a really interesting topic, one which I''m actually going to be studying in a sociology course I''m taking this semester. From my point of view, I think it will be important for people to really search themselves and overcome societal norms for gender roles. IMO, once people have more of androgynous and egalitarian view of roles and aren''t pressured by society to be a breadwinner, a homemaker, etc, then the employers will have to change some policies. An increasing number of men are finding it very important that they be home with the child for the first several months. Changes like this take time, but families and society are crucially linked. Pretty exciting stuff.

 

[April20]

I heard the story this morning as well and it is definitely holds true for us and for many people that we know. We don''t have kids and most of our friends do not as well, so the impact to us seems somewhat more minimal than it is to those trying to balance a family and household obligations, etc. I find it very fascinating how drastically things have changed when it comes to earnings in what is really a short amount of time.

 

[janinegirly]

another point I''ve heard is the drastic switch in % of men vs. women entering college in recent years. Women now represent a high majority of those in college. This is really not an encouraging statistic for men!

 

[jet2ks]

Date: 1/19/2010 1:18:22 PM
Author: janinegirly
another point I''ve heard is the drastic switch in % of men vs. women entering college in recent years. Women now represent a high majority of those in college. This is really not an encouraging statistic for men!

It is for the ones in college

 

[Elmorton]

I heard this on NPR this morning, too. I only have 2 other female friends my age who out earn their husbands, so I guess I run around in a pretty strange circle.

Also, I heard the statistic when I was in grad school that not only do women outnumber men for bachelor''s degrees, but also in master''s degree programs as well - which is a major shift from the 80''s and early 90''s. The only degree still most often held by men (at least when I was in school) is the doctorate. I don''t know if this is true, but I found it interesting.

 

[Mrs Mitchell]

Interesting. My mother out earned my father, so I guess I never thought of this as a big deal. DH outearns me at the moment (I''m at grad school) but once I''m qualified and have been working for a while, the plan is that he''ll reduce his hours to be at home with our daughter more, so probably earning less. He''s bored with work, I''m excited to get started again - I never really thought about the gender role / societal aspect.

I live in an area where family friendly employment policies are common, although DH''s employer is far more flexible than my former employer. He has a workplace creche, the right to take 13 weeks family leave every 5 years, home working options and flexible hours. He works in an all-male team but they all have young children. It''s a competitive professional field, yet they all take time out during the day, usually at lunchtime, to go and hang out with their kids in the creche.

Thinking about it, my close friends probably out earn their husbands too. My best friend is a serious high flyer and she makes easily three times her husband''s salary. He''s incredibly proud of her (I am too).

 

[HopeDream]

My BF has little desire to be the primary wage earner.
(He's a very hard working man, but he doesn't reqire the status of primary bread winner to preserve his masculine identity.)

I dream of being a wealthy woman with a charming house-husband.

School-wise I was in a natural resource science program (ranching, forestry , fisheries, mining etc.) when it began 20 years ago the students were 90% male, now, 20 years later the class is 65% female. My profs have noticed a huge shift.