A new Pew Research Center study shows married women are beginning to earn more money than their husbands. According to the study, Black wives, in particular, are significantly more likely to be the breadwinner in their marriages.
Statistically, men are still considered the breadwinners in opposite-sex marriages but the number of women earning the same or more than their husbands has tripled in the past half-decade. However, these statistics differ depending on the demographic.
One in four Black wives out-earn their husbands. Additionally, Black women are more likely than any other ethnic group to be in marriages. This, in turn, is to the financial benefit of Black families, the study says.. It creates the dynamic of egalitarian marriages, where husbands and wives share wage-earning and family responsibilities equally. Married Black women, wives with higher education, and those with fewer children at are most likely to be in egalitarian marriages.
Where Wives Still Fall Short
The study found that even in cases where wives were making more, the responsibilities at home were not even. Women tend to pick up heavier workloads when it comes to household chores and caregiving. Husbands in these circumstances are able to focus more on leisure and work. Still, the household workload is more often divided evenly in marriages where the woman is the breadwinner.
Additionally, the study found that when it comes to a man and a woman’s value in certain tasks there are also imbalances. Seven percent of people in the survey say society values men’s contributions at home more than those at work. When it comes to women, 31percent say women’s contributions at home are valued more than what they do at work.
If a wife is the breadwinner, a shift in at-home dynamics should be made as well. It starts with a societal reimagining of a woman’s duties.