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AP/file
Since her husband was laid off last fall, Julee Schirmacher has found herself in a spot that has become familiar to many families over the past few years. She works full-time for a marketing company and, for now, her husband stays home and takes care of the couple’s two kids, ages 5 and 2.
“Money worries me constantly,” said Schirmacher, 29.
The number of women earning more than their husbands had gradually been rising for years, but the pace appeared to quicken during the Great Recession of 2007-09.
Nearly 38 percent of wives earned more than their husbands in 2009, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, up about 3 percentage points from 2008.
As Schirmacher's case shows, in some cases women are earning more than their spouses not because the women are getting ahead, but because their husband has experienced a setback. Schirmacher's husband has been unable to find a job since getting laid off last September.
“Ideally, I would like us just to be working and in stable jobs,” Schirmacher said. “I don’t need to make a $100,000-a-year salary. I just want to be able to make money to be able to pay my bills on time, pay for the school for my kids. I just want to be able to have, like, nice Christmases with them. I want to be able (to say), on Friday when I get home from work, ‘Yeah, we can go to Friendly’s for dinner.’”
The BLS figures include families like Schirmacher's in which the husband may not be working at all. Looking more narrowly at families where both husband and wife are working, 28.9 percent of wives earned more than their husbands in 2009, up from 26.6 percent in 2008.
Mary Gatta, a senior scholar with the advocacy and research organization Wider Opportunities for Women, said it’s hard to say exactly what is behind the trend.
“The recession is a significant factor here in that during the recession we saw higher numbers of men lose their jobs,” Gatta said.
The official period of economic contraction, from December 2007 to June 2009, was so hard on men that some people dubbed it the “mancession” because so many men lost their jobs.
However, in the years of weak economic recovery that followed, women were harder hit while men started to gain jobs again. The trend appears to have started to even out in recent months.
Still, Gatta noted, that there are other, longer-term factors at work. For example, women have been graduating from college at higher rates than men for years. Workers with a college degree generally have higher earnings potential than those without one.
“It’s more than just the recession,” Gatta said.
In general, women’s earnings have become a much more intrinsic part of a family’s financial well-being over the past few decades, said Ellen Galinsky, co-founder of the Families and Work Institute. Her research from 2008 found that in dual-earning households, women were contributing about 45 percent of a family’s income on average.
Even in the families where wives make more than their husbands, she notes, many are struggling to get by – whether they have one or two salaries. In some cases women may be earning more their husbands because he lost a job or endured a pay cut.
“We have an image of (the wives) being the CEO of Xerox or something,” Galinsky said.
In fact, she said, many families in which both spouses work are in lower income brackets.
Galinsky expects that women’s earnings will continue to be key to many family’s financial survival.
“My view about the recession is that … it didn’t shift the course,” she said. “It accelerated the course we were already on.”
Schirmacher, who lives in Pottstown, Pa., always expected that both she and her husband would work.
She was actually the first to get laid off, in 2009. She ended up being out of work for more than two years, during which they had a second child and moved from Rhode Island to the Philadelphia area, where he got a better job.
In February 2011, she landed a job with a marketing company, and it seemed like the couple was getting back on financial track.
But then in September her husband lost his job as a property manager. That’s left him looking for a new job and taking care of the kids so they can save on child care costs.
Schirmacher said the situation is stressful for both of them. She recently took a promotion and has been working long hours, which means she doesn’t always get much time with the kids. Meanwhile, her husband is feeling the frustration of not being able to land a new job.
With just one income, the couple struggles to save money and worries about unexpected expenses. She recently had to borrow money from her parents for a major car repair.
“We can’t really catch a break,” she said. “We’re getting by but definitely not living the way that we were.”
Related:
More women seeking MBAs, but pay gap persists
Leave a Comment:
All good wives provide endless bacon.
They sure do. Hiring women means that companies can pay less.
Don't believe all the garbage you read in this article. They're just dodging the reason that they know well.
Because they, usually mind you, not always, don't put in as many hours and aren't as flexible in their work schedules as men.
They're paying everyone less... and the women even lesser. *not a word
Girls, we have to start negotiating those salaries.
I'm not married, but have a live in gf. I pay all the living expense bills. She pays for her own phone, car, and insurance. But she repays me in cooking, cleaning, laundry, and occationally takes me out to nice dinners. At the end of the day, she has it made.
All good wives provide endless bacon sandwiches.
That only works if you have a girlfriend who can cook and do laundry. I love my girlfriend dearly, but God help her, she's a slob and can't cook to save her life. So I pay the rent and she pays the bills, and I don't let her touch the stove, because I'm pretty sure she gave us food poisoning last time she attempted to make dinner.
This is only a testimony to the flight of good jobs out of our country. When I see men in their prime working a cash register at a grocery store because there is nothing else out there, I know this country is ruined by the crooked politicians working hard to please the top 1% who don't give a damn about the rest of us.
Blake: I bet you even ask for sex to help defray some of the costs of things you provide for the "little woman" too. Saves what you could spend on the street, now doesn't it?
Be sure not to vote for Teapublicans, ladies! They want us aolol barefoot and pregnant all the time.
men are finally wising up...being a man with a wife that makes as much as or more money than you is our next evolutionary step fellas...embrace it!
It's about time that women "man-up" and start pulling their load. Theirs nothing better than a woman with a strong back. Women's domestic skills have been going down the toilet for several years now. Personally, I'm glad to see that women are taking the bull by the horns and making something of themselves. This will allow men to sit back and hone their domestic skills, like, grocery shopping, doing the laundry, sorting the mail, dusting, and cooking.
Blake, it sounds like you've got it made as well! I would love to have a live-in maid/chef that doesn't expect a salary and only requires room and board.
Let's not let facts get in the way of a good narrative. For DECADES our society has devalued the work of men. We've put into place a variety of obstacles to economic growth in traditionally male sectors, like construction, and what growth we did foster we did it with reckless financial incentives helping to cause our present and ongoing poor economy.
And let's too forget that women earn MORE per hour for the same work, not less, but that women tend to not work as many hours as do men in the same jobs. Looking at the paycheck without looking at the hours worked doesn't compute.
If you want more of this, where more women than men go to college, where men are routinely shown as shallow and dense in our various cultural mediums, where men are relegated to the position of has-been, then keep voting how you do. But you have no one to blame for the negative consequences that are befalling us but yourselves.
azindy is a perfect example of the kind of delusional thinking that is hollowing out the USA. The TEA Partiers don't care if you work or not in your own relationship. They don't care if you are pregnant or not in your own relationship. They simply want you to keep your business as yours, and allow them to keep theirs as their own. So, if you choose not to work, or if you choose to have too many kids to care for, or whatever, they want you to deal with those consequences. Is that really too much to ask for?
azindy, though I am not part of the TEA Party movement I am not nearly as uninformed as you are. You should check out some facts before you slander people you do not know. Most women in the TEA Party work, and work outside the home (or have retired from working). Your comment bespeaks an ignorance that is appalling to me. Not because you are ignorant, but because ignorant people like you can vote. You have no idea what is real, but you are allowed a say in what is reality.
This phenomenon will never end positively for the USA.
if all of the women left the workplace where they do not belong there would be enough jobs for men and every family could meet their needs!!!
and cut this hair off of my picture msn you liberal feminist trash.
Blake, I suspect that cooking, cleaning, and laundry isn't the only way she repays you.
Many men have figured out what all women used to know and some still do, being a house "wife" is a pretty kushy gig. A little cleaning, a little cooking, a little errand running, a little shopping, a little child rearing, and a little sex AND NO GOD DAMN BOSS. No assembly line. No suit and tie. No insane commute. The only difference is women bread winners get sex on request everytime. If she earns enough to live comfortably being a kept man is the way to go!!! Been there done that. Time to read. Time to sit out on the deck with the other wives in the after noon gossip, drink wine and "watch the kids". The best part is women are actually stupid enough to help out with the house work and kids.
Joseph Kony has a child army of over 30,000 kids and THIS is national news?? #stopKony
Wow,
Such amazing stereotyping today. People deserve to get paid what they are worth, the value that they bring to an employer, regardless of gender.
For those that have a partner/spouse whatever that loves to cook, embrace that. My wife is an amazing cook, and she inspires me to practice in the kitchen. And although I can't achieve her cooking standards, I can do better than most because of what I witness, and what she teaches me.
And do Devil's son, a stay at home mom is significantly more difficult that you state. It is a rewarding but challenging job, and one that doesn't go Monday-Friday, but lasts years. Yes there are benefits, but there are also significant sacrifices. And I'm grateful for the effort my wife puts into our relationship, and the sacrifices she has made to her career for our family.
Who do companies pay more money men or women? So who would you hire if you want to keep your labor costs down? Think its all just been an accident?
Companies keep women because they can and do pay them less regardless of the quality of the work these women do. If Rich281385 can produce facts showing women earning more than their male at the same job please post them
Some "wives" are choosing not to become wives at all. Feminism, and the resulting financial independence, has made this possible.
Wow. I am so dumbfounded by the remarks from the males. Are you really so backwards/ignorant/selfish? Obviously - yes.
I have been the primary -- and too often, the only income in my family for 29 years. I love my husband, but his career hasn't exactly flourished. I work long hours when necessary, travel for the company when necessary, yet do the cooking, food shopping, laundry and a host of other chores some of you have deemed 'for wives/girlfriends only'. Women multi-task better, make quicker and more direct decisions, and can balance work/family better. And, have to deal with making less than our male counterparts.
Please get out of your caves, take off the rose-colored glasses, and embrace the 21st century. And for the jerk who said women shouldn't work at all and stay home... go pound sand. I have a college degree and am happy to use my brain. I am a better wife/mother for it. I admire those women how prefer to stay home and raise their family -- that choice didn't work for me.
My comment is regarding the couple in the story. She gets laid off, so what do they do? They go ahead and have another child !! Huh?!? One that they clearly cannot afford to have. (Never mind the first one). No wonder why they're struggling. And her big concern in being able to eat out. How about thinking a bit further ahead, like, how are we going to fund our retirment and college for the kids. Does anyone do long-range life planning anymore?
@Cathy Are you willing to concede that men do anything better than women? Just checking, because last time I read an article about combat troops, the vibe was definitely that women could do just as well as the men there too.
"Women multi-task better" - So you're saying that men are better at drilling down into one concept and getting to the core issue instead doing a half-assed job at three things?
Paraphrase "women do all the shopping, laundry, and other chores" - So women can't figure out how delegate and inspire? And men have figured out how to get you to do the crap jobs?
"Women make quicker and more direct decisions" - I thought I heard before that you were masters of weighing the options and taking into account everyone's feelings.
I'm confused, but maybe it is just my walnut-sized male brain.
...@ Chilly Water: it's not the walnut sized brain, it's all that testosterone influencing it. And women DO multitask better...just watch on the freeway during your morning commute, you can tell when a male driver gets a phone call: he slows down. Oh, and I earn half again what my husband does. And, I don't give a rat's azz what your feelings are.
@ um, yeah..... Do some research, while men do end up in more accidents that result in fatalities, women are more likely to end up in 'minor' accidents (i.e. fender benders) which usually occur during commuting hours.
OK. As long as we are clear that it is OK, nay, encouraged for members of one half of society to treat the other half as inferior in any measurements that count. I can't see any problem or inconsistencies in that logic.
about time they start pulling their weight for a change lol
As families become smaller, there are fewer boys. Boys are more valued (in most but not all families) and they are spoiled. This has led to more girls than boys going to (and finishing) college. The percentage, I think, is now around 70/30. This one face alone will lead to women making more money than men in the workforce.
Now you add to it that the US government has made a financial windfall of tax breaks for companies to take factory jobs (man jobs) overseas...and people wonder why men are out of work!
What a crock.
Wow! Where are your sources for this data? I say it's 60/40. Just because I can also make up things.
The ratio of girls to boys is most certainly true in our family. From the immediate family to the nieces and nephews, we have about 50% more girls than boys. In China where there is a quota for babies, many girls are orphaned or aborted.
Road Warrior,
And which are more valued, the girls or the boys? Any plans to send the girls out into the Winter freeze? That's the crock. I think Gregorovich must be from China - either that or he's a sock for Santorum.
Obviously, boys are more valued than girls in China. There are millions of unwanted young girls there. My brother and his wife adopted one.
Road Warrior: The thing that bothers me the most is that you actualy believe that. Have you ever been to China? Do you have any idea of what you are talking about? So, your brother adopted a girl. So what. There are not enough girls in China, and they are now highly prized except in rural areas where boys can endure back breaking work better.
Amazed,
It doesn't matter what I believe. It's the truty. I have lived in China for seven years. Have you been there? True, there is a shortage of girls because of them being aborted or secretly destroyed at birth. But that doesn't stop people from doing it because they desire a boy.
Amazed1, there's been quite a bit of coverage on the shortage of girls in China. They still aren't valued by their own families, but those with boys looking to wed (after possibly aborting their own daughters) are having a tough time.
Boys are valued more ? Get a clue !
There has been a concerted effort in this country for 50 years to feminize boys and to cheapen their image as men ! No fighting , no activities allowed that COULD cause injury except for organized sports !
I am an old man and minus the athletes at the local high school I am in better physical condition than most of the boys ! I work at staying healthy and strong and that doe not include , I pods , electronic games , etc , so many gadgets that are now used instead of physical activity !
Regardless of the size of families, or breakdown within a family, the overall rates are still about 50/50. My mom had 3 girls, but now has 4 grandson and only 1 granddaughter (so far).
Without outside interference the birth rate is almost 50% boys 50% girls if you take a large sample.
Boys are spoiled, yet more girls go to college than boys? First, that makes no sense. Sources please...From my experience, men forgo college because most have to pay for it themselves, as well as pay for their own expenses, once they turn 18. Most girls, again from my experiences, have their expenses paid for by their parents until they are through with college or married. See, I can use anecdotal evidence to make blanket assumptions as well.
you are so right Mike. Add to that, all of the positive influence to open a pathway for females, and what do you have-----
1--more males in prison
2--more males on welfare
3--country going down the drain
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/19/AR2010101907505.html
Here's one from the Washington Post that says that women out-number men in colleges 3-2. Now granted that's 60% and not 70%, but you get my drift.
And by spoiled I mean that in many households boys are given the same amount of expectations and responsibilities as girls and they are allowed to be little princes in their homes.
That still doesn't make sense. How would boys be spoiled if you admittedly say they are given the same amount of expectations and responsibilities as girls? That sounds like equal, not spoiled.
Sorry Mike, my brain got ahead of my typing. I meant to say that the boys were NOT given the same expectations and responsibility as girls. My error, thanks for reading.
@MikeDP
I am female, my parents did NOT pay one red cent towards my college educational expenses or living expenses at any time in my entire adult life. I worked full time all the way through. And graduated with honors. Hardly a pampered existence, wouldn't you say?
it seems there are many, many people in this country with their hands out-stretched, asking "Where's MY slice of that American pie?" They seem to forget the number one ingredient of American pie is HARD WORK.
This article is an outright lie.
The more men write these lies, the more powerful they become. Look at your salaries, ladies - do you believe it?
Unless your husband or boyfriend is unemployed - don't let the press get away with this lie.
So I must not be real, eh?
I make more than my husband does, and always have. Our careers are just at different points, and the recession has affected his income more than it has affected mine.
Umm, I was graduated from college and have always made twice what my spouse (who dropped out of college) made and now that he's unemployed, I make even more than he does.
I know plenty of women that make more than men.
Its not a lie. Most people make very little. Thus, its easy for a woman to make more than her husband. This includes unemployment situations etc.
Of course the top 1% is almost all men.
Overall, a woman is usually paid less for the same job as a man. But in families like mine, it's quite possible. Before my husband lost his job, he made more than I did. Now he works temp jobs so he's working most of the year, but his paycheck is never more than mine (even after insurance, etc is taken out of my pay)
I graduated college with a bachelor's in accounting and am currently working towards my CPA while working full time at a firm. My boyfriend never went to college and is a mechanic, he makes more than me most paychecks. In a few years though i have no doubt that I will be making double his pay and he may have only gotten a dollor or so raise. Without education, being in a dead end job with no room for advancement you are basically just stuck.
In my situation, we're both college educated but I have always made more than him. My benefits have also always been better. I am in IT, and I make the same amount as a male with my education and experience.
He was unemployed for 2 months last year, and I supported myself, our son and him without a problem.
Women were sold down the river by feminists.
Think about this. As recently as the 50's and 60's most families were single earner. Usually the husband worked, and the wife kept house and raised the children.
Then came the feminists demanding that women be 'independent', and that they have an equal right to jobs, etc. etc.
Women started working in ever greater numbers, until the norm became families with 2 incomes. Life was good, and the standard of living was rising.
Then, shock. Prices began rising and it now takes two folks to work and earn an income that supports the lifestyle that a single income supported in the 50's and 60's.
But women's roles in the home barely changed. They still bear most of the responsibility for keeping the home and raising the kids.
More shock. The great recession impacted men more than women in their jobs. So now many men are complete parasites living off the labors of their wives.
Good job feminists!
Women work to produce a family income, keep the house, and raise the kids. Men are just having a great time playing computer games, watching sports, drinking beer, and chasing skirts. Hmmmm...... Couldn't have been a better plan..... for men.
You can blame society for this. It's generally viewed as a bad thing to go from doing masculine things, such as providing for the family, to doing feminine things, such as taking care of the children at home, but not the other way around.
Women are applauded for breaking gender roles to be a provider or a working mother, but men aren't treated the same if they want to be a homemaker and stay home and take care of the kids.
I have a couple of friends who are stay at home dads. They love it. And I think in the end their kids will be better off for it.
"Men are just having a great time playing computer games, watching sports, drinking beer, and chasing skirts."
...and the best thing about feminism is that women are no longer stuck with these types of -- ahem -- "men", because of our independence and earning power. Wannabe men such as what you've described are why Hardees is so successful.
You cannot blame any one group of people or action for rising prices. It takes many different things, the economy is complex. Some-guy is right, society has a large role in this as well. I think it is bad if companies are hiring more woman because they can pay them less.
Stay bitter towards strong willed, independent sucessful women. Hopefully, whoever you're freeloading off of won't get tired of it too quickly, eh?
Right on, Letusreason! My husband lost his way several years ago (when tech employment began to tank) and has just checked out on any responsibilities since. We are fortunate that I have a good income, but my income has been flat for the last few years and our expenses are rising. Plus, we are relocation-challenged due to an underwater mortgage, limiting my ability to easily move for a better job. All the stress of finances, health (we're both in our 50s), aging parents, keeping up the house, etc, is on me. In the meantime, my "sweetie" watches the movie of the day and pursues his hobby - oops, I mean new profession - as a photographer.
Ah, the good ole' days. When men could beat their wives, have affairs, and generally treat their wives however they wanted because wives had no earning potential and thus no options. Granted they can still have affairs but now their wife can leave them if they want, and women can have affairs too! Equal opportunity for scummy behavior! Even when a guy left his family, like my alcoholic grandfather did to my grandmother, it was hard to get a job because men "needed those jobs to support a family". My grandma did have to support a family cause her dirtbag husband left but still had a tough time finding a job as the idea of a woman actually needing a job was hard for people to process. I thank feminists every day that I had the opportunity to study whatever I wanted and ultimately find a great job that pays well, has no unemployment, and is awesome! I do cook though but my husband does as much housework as I do, and works too. There are no gender roles in our house, except maybe that I cook and clean toilets and he takes care of the yard, but that's because he hates cleaning toilets and likes taking care of the yard so I cede this one to him. I also like to cook.
Liz - If women couldn't have affairs back in the day, who were the men having affairs with? Were there only gay affairs back then? You sorta confused me there.
Actually, the lifestyles changed a lot between 1950 and now. We have more...and it often takes 2 people to earn the salary to own a bigger house, more gadgets (and access plans), two cars, more clothes,... .
Our expectations have certainly changed.
Bacon sure tastes good but it is bad for you.
Love it!! Nice post!! "Dontcha" just love it when some uses an idiom they don't fully understand?!
Let's see the equality now reflected in the courts, where men have an equal shot and not being raped in the wallet after a divorce or getting custody of his children.
Too true! You'll hear the proverbial crickets chirping when you press the misandrists for an answer to this one. Should there be a "Men's Night" at various nightclubs, bars, the nation over? Along with a million other overlooked double standards.
...oh, puleez...
Welcome to the 21st century, y'all.....
let me get you some pink Hello Kitty band-aids for those knuckles.....
i'm comfortable with my manhood. bring 'em on.
The reason why is because women are paid less than men so the companies keep the cheaper of the two. Things have really gone down hill because at one point a man made more than enough to support a family and was given a pension. Today we get (these are a bad joke) 401K's and most of us do not make enough to fully fund our retirement with them. They were originally designed for CEO's.
I have far out-earned my husband for many years now. Makes sense, because I have a Master's degree and he has a high school diploma. This works because neither of us judges one other based on our incomes. He's not threatened by me, nor is he jealous of me. I'm not disappointed with him, nor do I nag him to make more money. He knew when he met me that I'd eventually end up with a nice salary, and I knew his had pretty much topped out. None of that matters. In the end, our incomes are pooled.
I agree. I am in the same boat and lucky to have my husband going back to school to finish a degree. In the mean time, we are living on my income and are counting down the days when we can have two incomes. Even if mine will always be higher.
Are only men posting here or what? This article sounds so much like my family right now. My husband was making possibly tripple what I was making just two years ago. I then found a great job and started making some decent money. Just as I was getting a raise a year later, my husband got laid off. He has since started back work and even thought he may make more than me per hour, I still bring more per check. Taxes just about rape him.
You should know better. Taxes don't rape anyone.
Uh, having you been reading the replies? It's a regular Gloria Steinem convention.
It is part of my dating criteria that any prospective partner has her own established career and is financially stable. I want a successful, independent women who, for lack of a better phrase, has her sh-t together. I watch all of my buddies dating these ditzy young 21-23 year olds who haven't yet figured out which end is up, and they're constantly bailing them out of one financial jam after another, be it car troubles or a stable place to live. And it makes me wonder if they can't see that they're being used like an ATM by these girls.
So if a woman makes more money than me, so much the better! I won't have to worry about her using me for monetary reasons. That's not to say that if she hits a rough patch or falls on hard times, I wouldn't be there for her. My current girlfriend that I've been with for several years lost her job a couple of years ago, and I supported her until she was back on her feet. I would hope she'd do the same for me.
i wouldnt count on it !!
I don't think it really matters if I do bring home more than my spouse, we're all just trying to survive our Government's bad choices.
i guess we'll just have to do something about this.
There's a huge "uptick" in white male unemployment, see, there's no government incentive for hiring them. But there is for an endless array of "special" groups.
This government has one agenda, have old wealth confiscated and given to "special" people -- i.e. anyone but white males.
Yeaaaah. That's why the top 1% are white males (in business, politics, and military).
It is illegal to hire based on race, religion, etc. That means to not hire someone because they are male and white is illegal.
Yeah, but nowadays white males are not being hired BECAUSE they're white males. It's more about giving it to any other group regardless of whether they're better qualified. A quota must be filled which, in my opinion, often puts a hindrance on the best possible work being produced.
I wish my wife was making more money than I. We would really be on Easy Street!
Women flooded the work force starting in the 70s, of course our unemployment will rise and men will suffer.
I've been taking care of my wife because she is on bed rest, I took a week off work, housework is the easiest thing in the world. Yesterday I dusted places that my wife hasn't in years, did all the laundry, vacuumed, cleaned the bathroom, took my daughter to see The Lorax, and cooked a seared porterhouse with seared scallops, sweet potato, and roasted asparagus.
I have NOTHING to do today, I've basically done my weeks worth of work in ONE DAY!!!! I would trade in a MINUTE with my wife to do this full time. Why do women pretend this is hard?
Try it day, after day, after day. Don't think you run to work every day, yelling "Yipee! This is so easy". And if you find you would rather be Mr. Mom, go for it.
MikeD34 - nothing is stopping men from staying home and being a housekeeper and raising their children as responsible fathers.
Hahahaha! Funny! I often think the same thing. However, I try to understand where the stay at home mom is coming from. If you have multiple small children under your feet demanding your attention all day, it's hard to get anything productive done.
Mike, if that is where you feel like you are doing your best, stay home and work it.
I think the women who complain about being a stay-at-home mom are the women who have 3 or more kids, a husband not willing to help out at all, and probably bored all day (having done their cleaning in 1 day, like yourself).
Life is all about balance.
The women that complain about having to still do "ALL THE HOUSE WORK", do so because they won't give up that CONTROL. Listen to them in any "Women's" magazine or article. They "ask" their husband/boyfriend/whomever to do some task, but he doesn't do it THEIR WAY, or TO THEIR SATISFACTION, so they do it over again to "DO IT THE RIGHT WAY or CORRECTLY". Then, complain about it to them. See, it's all about control and power. Also notice WHEN, these same women request that said task be done. It is ALWAYS when the man has made other plans or is involved in some other activity and it has to be done immediately. SEE, again, control and power. i.e. She is pi$$ed that you are watching the game, when she has decided it is time to clean the bathroom and do the laundry. Or you have planned to go play golf, but she want to plant her new flowerbed and do the spring yard cleaning, that she forgot to mention was her plan for this weekend until you are about to walk out the door Saturday morning. Sound familiar guys?? Gals?? Be Honest.
Except social stigma, of course.
I think division of labor is key in a harmonious home life. I make more money, so I pay the housing expense. She's better at managing bills, so she pays the utilities and other expenses. She has a habit of collecting cats (we're up to four) so she cleans the litter box. I do most of the cooking, so I do the dishes. We do each others' laundry whenever we do our own. Etc. We both work full-time so it would be unfair to expect either one of us to take care of all the domestic chores alone.
Mike - Did you read the article? It's about women earning more than men not complaining about how hard it is to stay home. Women may be complaining about working as hard or harder at work, making more and yet still having to do most of the cooking, cleaning and child care.
women belong home pregnant and barefoot, that is their place in life.
I hope you are kidding.
do you believe it that some men actually believe things like that . I 've worked with many that treated their wives like they were property.
I am at a point in my career where I make 3 times what my husband does. While he was downsized in 2007 and barely makes enough to cover the mortgage each month, my earnings have escalated however the downside of that is that I work very long hours, very few days off and don't even take sick leave unless it is an emergency. I feel that because he isn't bringing enough money home to cover things (we have always kept separate accounts and split the household expenses) I need to push myself and work harder and earn bonuses when possible. But truthfully, I am tired and would love to stay at home for a while and just be a housewife. I have always worked at least part time and the last 20 years, full time. so I need a break but the economy will not let working women like me get a break to stay at home.
"and don't even take sick leave unless it is an emergency"
Um, isn't that how it's supposed to be? Sick does not equal "vacation!"
Well, Mel Port, welcome to our world. Not easy, is it?
There was an article in the local newspaper that stated women earn $.80 on the dollar of men. Hmmmm. Hopefully the trend will continue.
Gotta laugh, the msn link headline "More wives bring home more bacon" made me think they were advocating for plural wives. =)
Sure, having more working wives in a family means that there are more wage earners and more money! As a stay-at-home mom (can't currently get a job that pays more than childcare does = more cost effective to stay home with them) I would love to have a 2nd wage earner in the house! As long as she's loving, loyal, and not a slob or a spender, sounds like a great idea to me! Or let me go back to work while she provides child care to the family . . . still a financially sound idea!
Currently we have a preschooler, a toddler, and a newborn. Child care costs are simply out of reach and my husband worries about the lack of a fall-back income should he get downsized *again*.
There's a larger issue here, folks. Our government has extended unemployment benefits (at taxpayer expense) which is a disincentive to look for a job. Why? In today's America, far more households are two income households. So with one spouse/partner working and the other collecting unemployment, the need for the non-working spouse/partner to find a job isn't as critical as it used to be.
Now before everyone jumps on me for being a mean-spirited conservative, think about it......................... Unemployment used to run out at 26 weeks. You were basically forced back into the workforce, even if it meant taking a lower paying job. Now it can run as long as 99 weeks. As a result, people are more inclined to ride out their benefit to the bitter end because they are not fully dependent on one income.
The problem comes when those folks have to explain why they've been unemployed for 2 years. This is the unintended consequence. Employers look negatively on someone who didn't take any job for two years and are less likely to hire them. So they are no longer being counted as "unemployed" under government statistics but they are still out of work. This is the time bomb that is ticking and could result in the double dip recession. That's the problem with being overly dependent on government entitlements (see Greece, Italy, France, etc.). Once you take them for an extended period of time, it's hard to wean yourself off of them.
I agree with several of the comments I read...I am a woman that was making more than my husband...not as flexible as he is, not willing to put in as many hours because I am a mother of 3 young ones that I consider much more important than the next raise. What did I do? Resigned, started my own business--I now have flexibility and making less than he is. Now everybody is happy:)!
We are not in a recession, USA is in an economic collapse. Big difference, China is going to take it away. Who cares if women or men are working. You will all be working for rice real soon.
Then the workers in China start to demand better wages and working conditions, then everything will get shipped over to Africa to get manufactured.
It'll happen, quote me on it.
@Some Guy, it's already happening. Lots of factory workers in China are starting to demand better wages and working conditions.
I earn more than my husband. American women are earning degrees faster than men are, and yet women still do not have equal representation in our government. The United States is 90th (!) in the world as far as women in government goes. Even Afghanistan has more women in their government than we do. This is wrong. I belive that 50% of our elected officials should be women.
Run for office then. Oh, I get it, it's the patriarchy that keeping women from running for office or voting for women when they do.
I never said that I didn't plan to run for office, and I never said that men kept me from doing so. See you at the polls!
It's funny when you hear guys saying, "I wish we could go back to the days when women stayed home and cleaned and cooked!", because they're obviously not thinking that through 100%. If you pay for everything and your wife is home by herself all day with nothing to do, she's going to end up doing the mailman. Or the neighbor. Or your golf buddy. Etc.
Gotta keep 'em busy.
Must be rough living with a restless, unfaithful whore-to-be.
Wife makes 3 times my salary. Good for her, she works her butt off. I'm very proud of her. Contemplating being a stay at home dad or perhaps going to part-time.
Makes you wonder which more successful man in her office she's having an affair with, doesn't it?
Wow.... What a truely a-hole remark. A woman is quit capable of reaching the top of the ladder on her own, with SUPPORT from her family/husband.
Oh, I'm aware of that. I just meant that his wife is probably surrounded by many men more successful and aggressive than her passive husband who appears to be fine with coasting through life, and as a result has probably slept with some of them. Hard for a beta male to have a faithful mate when she's surrounded by so many alpha dogs, you know?