Rise of the Female Breadwinners

We all knew this days was coming... nowadays (especially in the aftermath of the great recession) there are more an more women acting as breadwinners of their families - even if the husbands work.

That's right.  The stereotype of man as breadwinner is becoming less and less of the norm as women have started to earn more (or, in my opinion, earn what they should have been earning all along).

In 2007, 25.9 percent of wives were earning more than their husbands in households where both spouses work, according to the most recent data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, reported MSNBC.

I predict that one day soon stories like this will be pretty run of the mill as more and more families realize that typical gender roles don't always apply.  

The American family structure is changing.  In fact, I think that families are becoming less like the nuclear families of the 1950s (working dad, housewife mom, two kids and a dog) and more like a puzzle with different shaped and sized pieces for each family.  

Some families will have stay at home dads.  Some families will have both parents working and earning similar amounts.  Some families have only one parent to support the kids.  Some families have no kids to support at all.  The traditional idea fo a family is changing - and it's about damn time.

I also think that rather than every family member staying permanently in one role (the high earner, the supplemental income generator, the stay-at-home parent, whatever), the whole family earning dynamic is becoming more fluid and dynamic.  This is especially true as more and more people work for themselves.  It might be the case that for a few years the "mom" will be the breadwinner and then - through changing jobs or whatever - the "dad" becomes more of the breadwinner.  

Rather than worry about who the "breadwinner" is, we should embrace the idea that there is more than one way to provide for the family.  It should give us all a sense of security.  When times and situations change, today's more flexible families can adapt more easily.  Back in the 1950s stereotype, if the male breadwinner lost his job, it was pretty unlikely that his wife would be able to get a job to help the family survive.

As the woman interviewed in this article says, “I’m very glad I didn’t listen to all those teachers in the '70s (who said), ‘Oh, don’t worry, your husband will take care of you. Oh, don’t worry about getting an education.’”