How Highly Educated Wives Are Reducing Divorce Risks

There was a time when men worked outside the home and earned the money, and women stayed home to take care of the house and kids. Times have certainly changed, and women are out there earning their fair share (and more). In the past, a man who earned less than his wife may have felt like a failure, and his injured ego was relieved only by divorce. Fortunately, such a pattern is less common in this day and age.

A new study in the August issue of The American Sociological Review flips this stereotype on its head. It examined heterosexual marriages between 1950 and 2009 and discovered that unions in which the wife makes significantly more money than the husband is no longer a prerequisite or even a risk for divorce. And here's why:

Modern Statistics and What They Mean for Michigan Divorce Rates
In 1950-1970, marriages were 34 times more likely to end in divorce when the wife was the more-educated spouse. The trend continued through the next few decades, but everything changed after the turn of the millennium. Studies from 2005 showed that younger men (ages 25 and below) had no issues whatsoever with their higher-educated (and often higher-earning) spouses. In fact, 60 percent of those marriages thrived compared to those where the male had more education and made the higher income. And the gap has only increased in the past eight years.

These first-generation forward thinkers are turning the tides on traditional thinking. From Maui to Macomb County, Michigan, men of marrying age value the education and earning efforts of their wives; a trend that deserves applause (and an encore of “it’s about time”). So that means divorce rates across the board should be plummeting, right? Not exactly. At least not yet.

Do Traditions and Modern Role Reversal Lead to Divorce?
The problem comes down to ingrained perception. That darned traditional pull comes in again for the older crowd and causes all sorts of trouble. So while modern trends are growing in popularity, they haven't convinced everybody.

Any man can say what he wants about feeling empowered by being the primary care giver and house husband, but the older he is, the more traditional pull sets in. And eventually the male tends to feel threatened by his wife’s success and inundated by the lack of appreciation for his own efforts. In other words, roles are reversed and hubby doesn’t like it. And while many "older" wives are thrilled with their own professional prowess, they often admit to turning into a stereotypical mentally abusive counterpart and complaining on the lack of effort or ability as they perceive it on the house husband’s end.

Competent Michigan divorce lawyers know that many court systems today still refuse to believe a father’s claim as primary caregiver or consider his needs for spousal maintenance. This often leads to a shift in the emotional dynamic of the relationship which ultimately leads to a nasty divorce. Of course, these concerns are almost negated in studies where the male spouse makes enough money to support his household on his own. In that case, regardless of age, marriages are more secure due the male’s personal security level regarding his ability to provide in the event his partner suffers a professional income loss.

But how do women feel about tipping the scales? There’s still a traditional tug for that end as well, although it’s nowhere near as strong. Over 20 percent of women (36 percent of women with children) admit that they feel regular guilt over earning more than their spouses. This suggests that men continue to be men and women continue to be women. Hopefully the new trend of gender-neutral feminism will continue to grow and enable women to focus (without guilt) on education and earning what they deserve and give dads a shot at developing the unique nurturing capabilities every child deserves to experience.

Experiencing gender-related issues in your own marriage?  Contact Femminineo Attorneys to discuss your options.

Femminineo Attorneys
Michigan Divorce Help
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Mt Clemens, MI 48043
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