When women earn more than their husbands in Ohio, the results can be devastating. In fact, this holds true virtually everywhere in the U.S., though not in all marriages. According to MarketWatch, 38% of American wives make more money than their husbands. Women also earn half or more of the household income in one-third of all couples living together in America, married or not.
In spite of this relatively high prevalence, American men are not adjusting well to the idea of having a successful woman in the home, or worse, one who may prove to be more successful than themselves. Sometimes this may result from personal insecurities. Other times, the women may choose to assert themselves as head of the households in-keeping with their income. While this was a common default for men even ten years ago, men often struggle in relationships where the tables turn.
In fact, divorce becomes 33% more likely when men do not work full-time. Researchers believe that gender roles are to blame for this. While 40% of Americans believe fathers should provide an income for his children, only 25% believed that mothers should financially support their children as well. Additionally, 75% of the respondents believe that women entering the workforce made it harder to raise kids.
NPR cautions people to take the 38% figure with a grain of salt. It states that the reason the figure is so high is because in one-third of these scenarios, the men earn nothing at all. This may be the case if the man is unemployed and lazing about at home, is currently in-between jobs and looking for work or is a full-time student. Once researchers adjust for these instances, then women out-earned their husbands 29% of the time.
One finding in particular surprised researchers. In most couples, women spend about 44 minutes more per day on household duties than men. However, when women earned more money, the gap increased even more. Thus, in most instances where wives earned more than the husband, the man also still left most of the housework up to her. Some researchers believed women actually took on more work on purpose to ensure their husbands did not feel emasculated.
Without a doubt, there are exceptions to these instances. Some men enjoy spending more time at home with the kids and taking on housework. However, it will take more cultural progression before men feel comfortable in this role, even when it is only temporary.