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Hold on to your hats boys, because the newest relegation in motherhood is that of being a primary household income earner. According to a new study that was conducted by the Pew Research Center, mothers are the primary income earners in four out of 10 U.S. households that have minor children. The study attributed that the numbers are due to an increasing amount of high income earning single mothers and married mothers who earn more than their husbands do.
Things have most certainly changed. Rewind back about 50 years to 1960, and that number was a dismal 11 percent. Kind of makes you wonder what that same number looked like in the 50s, where an outlandish guess would say it was about 5-6 percent at that time.
These days, women are not only nurturers to their children, but in many instances they are also the primo bread winners for the family, too. Today, more than 25 percent of all households that have children under the age of 18 are headed by single mothers. That’s a 7 percent increase since 1960. Similarly, working moms who have minor children and who are married take more pay then hubby in about 15 percent of all households containing this demographic, a number that’s up from just 3.5 percent in 1960.
Ethnicity also plays a role, according to the study by Pew. For example, married moms who are primary bread winners are likelier to be white, be college educated and older, and be earning a median family income of $50,000 per year. Whereas single mothers tend to be younger, black or Hispanic, and earn a median income of about $20,000 per year.
“The growth of both groups of mothers is tied to women’s increasing presence in the workplace,” the study stated.
According to the Pew report, women comprise about 47 percent of America’s labor workforce. More mothers are working outside of their homes these days, about 65 percent according to last census data (2011). That’s compared to 37 percent in 1968.
Related polls showed some mixed reviews on working moms. About 50 percent of adults polled stated that working mothers put strain on a marriage. About 75 percent claim it is more difficult to raise children with working mothers. In contrast, however, more than 70 percent agreed that two working parents make life easier to live and enjoy due to increased annual income (no big shocker on this last one, folks).
