WASHINGTON–A new analysis on the financial status of married couples has divided them into five basic marriage types.
While men remain the main breadwinner in a majority of opposite-sex marriages, the share of women who earn as much as or significantly more than their husband has roughly tripled over the past 50 years, noted Pew Research Center in its analysis.
“In 29% of marriages today, both spouses earn about the same amount of money. Just over half (55%) of marriages today have a husband who is the primary or sole breadwinner and 16% have a breadwinner wife,” Pew Research said. “Even as financial contributions have become more equal in marriages, the way couples divide their time between paid work and home life remains unbalanced. Women pick up a heavier load when it comes to household chores and caregiving responsibilities, while men spend more time on work and leisure.”
The Five Types
According to Pew Research Center, the five basic marriage types it has identified are:
- Wife is the sole breadwinner: The wife has positive earnings; husband has no earnings
- Wife is the primary breadwinner: The wife earns more than 60% of the couple’s combined earnings (and the husband has earnings)
- Egalitarian marriage: Both the wife and husband earn between 40% and 60% of the couple’s combined earnings
- Husband is the primary breadwinner: The husband earns more than 60% of the couple’s combined earnings (and the wife has earnings)
- Husband is the sole breadwinner: The husband has positive earnings; wife has no earnings
“As a backdrop to all of this, a majority of Americans say that society values men’s contributions at work more than their contributions at home,” Pew Research said. “Only 7% say society values men’s contributions at home more than those at work, and 35% say these contributions are valued about equally. When it comes to women, about half of adults (49%) say the contributions women make at work and at home are valued about equally. Some 31% say women’s contributions at home are valued more than what they do at work, and 20% say just the opposite.”
Other Key Findings
Additional key findings from Pew Research Center’s survey of 5,152 U.S. adults and analysis of government data found:
- Far fewer husbands are the sole breadwinner in their marriage these days. “The share of marriages where the husband is the primary or sole breadwinner has fallen steadily in recent decades, driven mainly by the declining share of marriages where the husband is the sole provider – this was the arrangement in 49% of marriages in 1972, while today that share is 23%.”
- Breadwinner wives are still in the minority. “Relatively few marriages (6%) have a wife who is the sole breadwinner, and wives are the primary breadwinners in 10% of marriages today. The share of marriages where the wife is the sole or primary breadwinner has increased from 5% in 1972 to 16% today.”
- Earnings arrangements within marriages differ by demographics. “Among wives overall, Black women, those with a four-year college degree, those ages 55 to 64 and those with no children are among the most likely to be the breadwinner in their marriage.”
- In egalitarian and breadwinner wife marriages, husbands spend considerably more time on leisure activities than wives. “Husbands in egalitarian marriages spend about 3.5 hours more per week on leisure activities than wives do. Wives in these marriages spend roughly 2 hours more per week on caregiving than husbands do and about 2.5 hours more on housework. In marriages where wives are the primary earners, husbands’ leisure time increases significantly (compared with egalitarian marriages), while the time they spend on caregiving and housework stays about the same. When wives are the sole earners, the amount of time husbands spend on caregiving and housework does tick up somewhat.”
- The public thinks married men and women have different ideas about which spouse should earn more money. “About half of Americans (48%) say most men who are married to a woman would prefer that they earn more than their wife. Only 3% say most men want a wife who earns more than they do, and 13% say most men would prefer that they and their spouse earn about the same. The public has mixed views about what most women would prefer: 22% say most women want a husband who earns more than they do, 26% say most would want to earn about the same as their husband, and only 7% say most women want to earn more than their spouse.”
- When it comes to what’s best for kids, most Americans think both parents should be equally focused on work and home. “A 77% majority say that, when children are being raised by a mother and a father, they are better off if both parents focus equally on their job or career and on taking care of the children and the home. Some 19% say kids are better off if the mom focuses more on home and the dad focuses more on work; only 2% say a dad focused on home and a mom focused on work is ideal.”
The full report can be found here.