An interesting article was published by Forbes regarding the impact of money in a marriage. In the article author Peggy Drexler discusses the impact that income inequality may have on a marriage, especially if the wife is earning more than her husband. The article addresses the fact that despite the great strides made by women in their fight for equality, preconceived notions of gender roles still exist, and that if these gender roles are not followed as expected, tension may arise within a marriage, ultimately leading to divorce in many cases.
The Forbes article highlights these issues as well as several others and describes the sad reality that many career focused women have to face. Below is a portion of the article that we found particularly interesting.
“Throughout history, men …retained more power in society because they earned more money. Now that those roles are far more fluid, couples have needed to adjust to the new reality. [Despite the changes, many people] remain hardwired to believe that a man should be the breadwinner, and evidence suggests that…conflict [may occur] when the woman earns more.
A new study out of the University of Chicago found that unequal earnings, may be contributing to a decline in marriage. Researchers found that an increase in high-earning women can affect whom people choose to marry-and how much women decide to work outside the home. In many instances, the authors found, women who earned more ended up working part time or leaving the work force entirely. And when they didn’t? In such couples, both wife and husband generally reported being less happy about the marriage.”
As we all know, unhappy marriages, like the ones the article mentions, very often end in divorce. To lower the number of divorces that occur because of tensions that arise when a wife earns more than her husband, society needs to get rid of the negative stigma associated with a successful career woman. We need to accept the fact that many women are now in positions of power. Wives should be proud of their ability to work and have a family, and husbands should be happy for their wives, not resent them. Women should not have to choose between a happy marriage and being successful in the workplace. A woman should be a stay-at-home mom or housewife because she chooses to be, not because she feels guilty that she is making more money than her husband.
A change in attitude is in order, but until this happens it is unfortunate that many couples will end relationships because of monetary tensions, and have to go through the Pennsylvania divorce. If you find yourself in this sort of situation, contact our Pittsburgh divorce lawyers at Taybron Law Firm, LLC. Our attorneys have handled many PA divorce cases and we are here to assist you with your case.
If you are interested in the subject and want to read more, the full article can be found at:http://www.forbes.com/sites/peggydrexler/2013/08/06/money-vs-marriage/