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Guess Who's Bringing Home the Bacon? Working Wives are the Breadwinners
Filed under: Work Life, News, In The News, Weird But True, New In Pop Culture
Work it, Mom. Credit: Corbis
But even though wives earned almost half of the family finances -- 47 percent in 2009, up from 45 percent the previous year -- they're still not making the big bucks, the study finds. This is the biggest jump in 15 years, but not because their salaries rose, rather because more of their husbands lost jobs, the study says.
"Make no mistake: This increase is not due to advancement or opportunities for women, but rather it is an indication of hard financial times for families," says Kristin Smith, a family demographer at the Institute, in the study.
Women weren't getting higher wages during the recession, according to the study. The median wages of employed wives fell to $30,000 in 2009, from $31,041 two years earlier. The median income of husbands with employed wives fell in that time to $42,000 from $46,562.
At the same time, the economy is striking its blow at more of the male-dominated jobs, such as construction and manufacturing, which leaves wives earning more of the family pay, the study states.
"As husbands lose their jobs, family earnings plummet, and the role of wives' earnings often becomes critical to keeping families afloat," Smith says.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
10-15-2010 @ 6:13PM
Susan said...My husband and I are early 50s with college and high school age children. He has been unemployed for two years and without any income for about 3 months. I always worked but he was the larger wage earner and I have not enjoyed being the sole wage earner. It has lead to a dramatic change to our lifestyle, more loans for our college age children and a lot of resentment. On one hand we know we are lucky to still have a home and food to eat, but this is not how we envisioned this time in our lives. Our savings are gone and we are all in debt. I do not feel empowered; I feel overwhelmed.
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10-17-2010 @ 6:58PM
Alicia said...As I'm sure many of these women do. This is the difference between choosing to be the sole earner and being forced to take on that role. Some families like having the mother working and the father at home and that's great for everyone involved! You might be less stressed had you consciously made that decision. However, you were forced into the position with no way to turn and no one likes feeling trapped and under pressure. There's no right or wrong way for a family to organize itself, there is no right or wrong way for a family to look. It all depends on what they feel is best for their individual situation. It isn't until the choice of how to work and organize a family is taken away that stress and misery increase. I'm sorry you're having a hard time.
10-17-2010 @ 8:17PM
MeToo said...Me too and I'm tired. My husband has retired he has health problems also. I feel that he could do something to help around the house but he doesn't even try. I love him dearly but is this all there is to the rest of my life?
10-17-2010 @ 8:43PM
getreal13 said...Do like all the other women do; get a divorce. When the going gets tough, the women get going, or nagging, complaining, whining, ect. ect. Like the saying goes, Take it like a man!
10-18-2010 @ 12:36AM
startrekstngs said...Honey you are preaching to the choir. I am in the same boat. Feel over worked , over stressed and constantly broke just barely keeping my head above water. All ways on the verge of losing everything no savings left . Some times feel that I am worth more dead than alive.
10-17-2010 @ 8:33PM
DJ said...I know what you mean, I have a stress job and my husband gets home earlier than me or than he doesn't. Neither one of us works traditional 9-5 jobs. But I am still the one lugging the kids, running the errands, taking his car to the shop, and cooking the meals. I am tired. I also pay all the household bills and make twice as much as him. I am not really sure what he does other than yell.
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10-17-2010 @ 9:27PM
tyrebitre said...Then divorce him and quit complaining.
10-18-2010 @ 4:11AM
Micah said...Iy's very unfortunate that many women have to deal with husbands like that.I have never and will never treat my wife in that way. In my opinion, any man that would treat his wife that way, he is not really a man. My wife is a homemaker. I work 6 days a week but I still come home and help her do things around the house. I also go grocery shopping with her. I don't do it because I have to. I wouldn't have to do auything if I didn't want to. My wife would take care of everything, because she loves me. I do things for her and help her out around the house because I love her dearly. She is my sweetheart.
10-17-2010 @ 9:24PM
Joe said...Well has there not been a concerted effort to do in the demographic where the male is the breadwinner. There is no special program to save those jobs. Quite the contrary. This should be no surprise to anyone.
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10-17-2010 @ 11:03PM
Pat De Range said...When we first moved down here my husband didn't look for a job, he decided he wanted to live off of the sail of our house for a while. THEN when king tut decided to look for a job it started getting bad, and that was 9 years ago. He wasn't looking very hard either, so I decided to go looking for a job, I told him if I find one then he'll have to work nights because we have a handicapped son and could never be left alone. I found a job (a good one) and that's how it's been. I found another better paying job staying home caring for my son and my husband FINALY found a job, although the pay stinks, but he's out and out of my hair. He can't even earn enough each mo. to pay the mortgage, (but he STILL USES HIS CHARGES, and he sees nothing wrong with that), where I pay most of the mortgage, utilites, food, clothes, car insur. and car repairs, and repairs to the house (he don't even know how to use a hammer) and he hates painting also...this all causes a lot of fights. To me he's usless. I came from the old school, men work and women raise the kids, my husband is a gigolo to me, perhaps I'm wrong, but he should be happy that I can bring in the money rather than yell all the time and say really nasty things, and eat all the time like a teen age boy, and he's the skinny one.
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10-18-2010 @ 4:01AM
rob said...I am a man who does all the fixing, buying, building, repairing, and earning, the wife does most all of the kids stuff and house chores. We live like the old way, but I have to say, I don't personally know anyone who lives like the old way. Our friends say they are happy with the wives working and paying most the bills, but I feel that it is more of a facade. I hope things get better for you. Keep trying your best, and know that no matter what, if you are doing what needs to be done for your family, you are the better person for that. There are lots of people who run out on their responsibilities, but you seem to be a genuine person, and your son needs you to be positive and strong in your convictions. Good luck!!
10-17-2010 @ 11:29PM
Cmorrisjac said...There has been an all out assault on men and their place in society, especially white men. TV is filled with black men having sex with white women. The jobs white men had have been outsourced over seas. Why don't we try outsourcing the Congress, NOW, or CEO's'?
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10-17-2010 @ 11:47PM
yolagnes said...Men are slowly and surely becoming useless in our society, and frankly, I think it's by design. It's no secret that women will work longer, harder and at less pay than men. What does this translate into? More money in corporate America's pocket, because women accept jobs at less pay. We all do what we need to do to survive, but people, we're doing it at a very, very high cost ... the disintegration of the family structure, and of our relationships, which will surely lead to the disintegration of the US as we know it. Don't have to worry about the terrorists... we're going to do it to ourselves.
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10-18-2010 @ 12:32AM
Kira said...I totally agree, the complete disintegration of the family structure will surely seal our demise as a country.
10-18-2010 @ 4:58AM
W. L. Huffman said...I wonder what ever happened to for better or worse. I am an unemployed man who worked 25 years 6 days a week sometimes more than 12 hours a day. When automobile sales crashed so did my job. I became an acholic and extremely depressed. I try my best. I've become a ginny pig for modern medicine. Nothing seems to work. I am finally cutting back on medications and guess what.....I'm starting to improve. I look forward to the day I am back to supporting my family. In the mean time I am indebted to my wife for carrying the load.
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10-18-2010 @ 6:08AM
MotorCityMama said...Women have always been the cement that holds families together. They have always worked outside the home (in the last 100 years) and taken care of family. Men couldn't do a woman's job. Period. If it doesn't involve their penis, they don't do it.
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10-20-2010 @ 5:10PM
Jerry Dale said...Sad
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10-20-2010 @ 5:01PM
Jerry Dale said...That is why He has It. If You had It, You would be King.
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