6/21/13
Mothers are the sole or primary breadwinners for 40% of U.S. households with children under age 18, according to Pew Research Center analysis of the latest available U.S. Census data. This is almost four times the number of households in which mothers were the primary income providers in 1960 (11%). Of the nearly 14 million moms who are their families’ primary or sole earners, 37% are married moms with higher incomes than their spouses, and the remaining 63% are single moms. More than four in 10 single moms (44%) have never been married.
Women earn more than men do in 23% of married couples with children under 18, up from 4% in 1960. Three in 10 newlywed women (with or without children) earn more than their husbands (30%). One in four households with children (25%) are headed by single moms, up from 7% in 1960.
Families in which the mother is the primary breadwinner have higher incomes than those in which the father is the higher earner or those in which both partners’ incomes are the same. More than two-thirds of working-age women (68%) are in the labor force, as are 79% of working-age men. Almost two-thirds of married moms are employed (65%).
In the majority of married couples with children, both partners have comparable levels of education, but when one partner is more highly educated, it is more likely to be the wife (23%) than the husband (17%). Almost half of married mothers who earn more than their husbands (49%) have college degrees or more education, compared with 34% of moms overall.
Americans have mixed feelings about the increased participation of women in the workforce and its effects on family life. Two-thirds of Americans (67%) believe the increase in women working outside the home has made it easier for families to earn enough money to meet their needs, according to a Pew Research Center poll. At the same time, however, 74% believe the trend has made it harder for parents to raise children. Half of Americans (50%) think the larger share of women in the workforce has made it harder for people to have successful marriages, while 35% think it’s made it easier.
More than half of Americans (51%) think children are better off if their mothers stay at home rather than work, but only 8% think they’re better off if the fathers stay home. More than six in 10 (64%) think the growing share of children born to single mothers is a “big problem,” although this is down from 71% who felt this way in 2007. People ages 50 and older (74%) are much more likely than those under 30 (42%) to consider single motherhood a significant problem. Whites (67%) are more likely than nonwhites (56%) to consider it a significant problem.
Source: “Breadwinner Moms,” May 2013, Pew Research Center, 1615 L St., NW, #700, Washington, DC 20036; 202-419-4300; info@pewresearch.org; www.pewresearch.org. Price: Available online at no charge.
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