The Rise of Female Breadwinners
As the title suggests there are increasing numbers of women who are now the female breadwinners in their home.
Research by the Institute for Public Policy Think-tank has found that more than 2 million working mothers are the main breadwinners.
This represents a rise of 80% over the last 15 years (or one in three working mums).
Further research by Liverpool Victoria (LV=) has found that 41% of women now earn more than their other half.
This is up from just 26% in the early 1990s.
And, in the last 20 years the number of stay at home dads has almost doubled to 209,000.
Interestingly in the UK, there are regional differences.
For example, Scotland has the highest levels of female breadwinners (32%) v.
27% in London.
Over the past couple of years I've interviewed and coached a number of 'successful' women who have children.
The majority of these women have stay at home husbands.
And, without exception, they have said that they could not have enjoyed the career successes they have had without their partners being at home.
According to Dr Robert Frank, author of The Involved Father, the average stay at home father is 38 years old, married and lives in the suburbs.
And why has he chosen to be a stay at home dad? · His wife earns more than him · They do not want to put their child into child care · His wife has greater earning capacity · They both want a parent at home This is certainly borne out with the women I have spoken to.
The worry about 'who is looking after our children' vanishes when a parent stays at home.
And, secondly, many Dads report that they have been able to bond much more deeply with their children as a result of being at home.
(Take John Lennon spending several years with his son Sean back in the 1970s).
However there are downsides too: · Social stigma (both men and women) · Some men have to deal with the perception that if their child plays with another son or daughter of a mum, he is 'having an affair' · Mates taking the Mickey and asking 'When are you going to get a proper job?' On top of this the female breadwinners have to deal with the guilt.
I know when my children were small I felt terribly guilty.
My husband ran a business from home and was able to take the children to and from school.
He also did the majority of the cooking and a lot of the household chores.
But it didn't stop the guilt.
In fact, if I'm completely honest, it wasn't guilt I was experiencing it was jealousy.
Chris was there at sports days, end of term plays, he knew their friends, teachers, eating habits, TV programmes, and favourite activities.
And I hated it! Yet, it's very hard to become a female breadwinner when all the cultural norms are screaming out that women need to be the ones at home.
It's so difficult when we want to have it all.
On a positive note men in the 20s and 30s are much more flexible and pragmatic than their elders.
They see the responsibility of children and household chores as a team effort.
Organisations and government policies need to reflect these growing trends too.
Is it right that Dads get one or two weeks off with paternity leave whilst women get many months? And, one of my big moans, why are schools still operating on an outdated model of school hours that sees kids starting school around 9am and finishing around 3:30pm.
In my view, there needs to be a fundamental re-look at how we are supporting the whole family.
Research by the Institute for Public Policy Think-tank has found that more than 2 million working mothers are the main breadwinners.
This represents a rise of 80% over the last 15 years (or one in three working mums).
Further research by Liverpool Victoria (LV=) has found that 41% of women now earn more than their other half.
This is up from just 26% in the early 1990s.
And, in the last 20 years the number of stay at home dads has almost doubled to 209,000.
Interestingly in the UK, there are regional differences.
For example, Scotland has the highest levels of female breadwinners (32%) v.
27% in London.
Over the past couple of years I've interviewed and coached a number of 'successful' women who have children.
The majority of these women have stay at home husbands.
And, without exception, they have said that they could not have enjoyed the career successes they have had without their partners being at home.
According to Dr Robert Frank, author of The Involved Father, the average stay at home father is 38 years old, married and lives in the suburbs.
And why has he chosen to be a stay at home dad? · His wife earns more than him · They do not want to put their child into child care · His wife has greater earning capacity · They both want a parent at home This is certainly borne out with the women I have spoken to.
The worry about 'who is looking after our children' vanishes when a parent stays at home.
And, secondly, many Dads report that they have been able to bond much more deeply with their children as a result of being at home.
(Take John Lennon spending several years with his son Sean back in the 1970s).
However there are downsides too: · Social stigma (both men and women) · Some men have to deal with the perception that if their child plays with another son or daughter of a mum, he is 'having an affair' · Mates taking the Mickey and asking 'When are you going to get a proper job?' On top of this the female breadwinners have to deal with the guilt.
I know when my children were small I felt terribly guilty.
My husband ran a business from home and was able to take the children to and from school.
He also did the majority of the cooking and a lot of the household chores.
But it didn't stop the guilt.
In fact, if I'm completely honest, it wasn't guilt I was experiencing it was jealousy.
Chris was there at sports days, end of term plays, he knew their friends, teachers, eating habits, TV programmes, and favourite activities.
And I hated it! Yet, it's very hard to become a female breadwinner when all the cultural norms are screaming out that women need to be the ones at home.
It's so difficult when we want to have it all.
On a positive note men in the 20s and 30s are much more flexible and pragmatic than their elders.
They see the responsibility of children and household chores as a team effort.
Organisations and government policies need to reflect these growing trends too.
Is it right that Dads get one or two weeks off with paternity leave whilst women get many months? And, one of my big moans, why are schools still operating on an outdated model of school hours that sees kids starting school around 9am and finishing around 3:30pm.
In my view, there needs to be a fundamental re-look at how we are supporting the whole family.
Source...