Third of women are earning more than their men and are main breadwinners at home

By Lucy Ballinger and Rachel Quigley
Last updated at 3:27 PM on 20th July 2010


Nearly a third of women are the main breadwinners in their household, according to a major survey.

Thirty per cent earn more than their partners and a further 19 per cent earn the same amount.

Researchers said that in many relationships it was no longer assumed that the man would bring in the bigger income, especially in a time of widespread redundancies.

Top earners: Modern women are more likely to be out winning bread rather than staying at home to bake it

Top earners: Modern women are more likely to be out winning bread rather than staying at home to bake it

In a significant shift in attitudes, four out of ten women said that the career of whichever partner had the highest income would take precedence in the relationship.

In one in ten families, a house husband looks after the children and does the chores while their female partner works full time.

Ten per cent of women admitted this role reversal had put strains on their relationship and some said it had even led to them parting company.

 

The Women and Work Survey 2010, commissioned by Grazia magazine, found that almost half of full-time mothers disliked not earning their own money.

And two thirds of the mothers among the 2,000 women in the survey said they wanted to keep working in some way after having children.

A slightly higher number of those with children under three said they would prefer to work - preferably part-time - rather than stay at home.

Leading example: Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, the wife of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, has the bigger income

Leading example: Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, the wife of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, has the bigger income

Victoria Harper of Grazia said: 'Women are getting good jobs when they graduate, and working up the career ladder faster than they have ever done.

toxic sisterhhood

'This means that there has to be more fluidity between the roles of men and women in a relationship and when they have children.

'If a couple are having a baby and it is the woman who is the highest earner it might make more sense for the man to pick up the slack and help out with the child-rearing.

'Instead of the have-it-all woman who tries to do everything, we are now seeing cross-over couples who share roles.'

One example of the new wave of 'Mrs Bigs' is Nick Clegg's lawyer wife Miriam, 42, who has long been the primary breadwinner in their relationship.

The mother- of- three recently accepted a lucrative job with Spanish wind farm firm Acciona, and earns £500,000 as partner in international law firm DLA Piper.

Her Deputy Prime Minister husband takes home £135,000 a year.

The survey found 67 per cent of mothers either work full or part time with six out of ten believing the better they do at their career, the better mother they become.

Just 11 per cent of the women said they wanted to stop work completely.

Job share couples

Almost half said they believed young children suffered emotionally if both parents worked full time.

Almost the same number believed full-time nursery could be harmful to young children.

There was also a trend toward working from home, with four out of ten women saying they preferred that option.

Mothers in their thirties were found to be the most likely to set up a business.

And half of women with full-time jobs said their employment made them feel 'worthwhile' and 'confident'

Yet official figures released earlier this year show women working full time typically earn about 20 per cent less than male equivalents.

On average, a man is paid £531 a week before tax, but a woman gets only £426, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The Grazia researchers questioned 2,000 women, with an average age of 36, about their attitudes to work and motherhood.

Forty-one per cent were married and 19 per cent were single. Nearly half had children and 61 per cent were professionals or managers.

 

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have not been moderated.

1- lots of jobs are being turned from full time to part time

2- employers prefer part time workers since they can work them harder and then get rid of them...hire and fire anytime

3- women are main beneficieries of this...leaving blokes out of work

Click to rate     Rating   3

fair enough, In an ideal world I would like a house husband as I want children and I want them brought up properly but I also want to run my own business.
Trying to have it all?
Yep and whats wrong with that. Why can't I have ambition and achieve what I want :)

Click to rate     Rating   2

'I wondered how many engineers or tradesmen this school had produced..? Apparently none. They were far more concerned with female pursuits and objectives.'

'Female pursuits and objectives'?!

You appear to divide the world of work and education solely according to the genders. What a sexist idiot you are. I've heard many such comments on these pages and let most fly over my head, but that one was just so stupid that I had to flag it up.

Click to rate     Rating   3

Kate, Doncaster -

Don't worry about Anthony. He's always posting on this kind of article and is a perpetual misogynist who just loves to wind us all up. I wouldn't waste time replying to him if I were you.

As for my own thoughts on this, I find it very encouraging in principle but do find it a little worrying that this 'have-it-all' attitude has become quite so prevalent. 67% of mothers wanting to continue in their jobs is fine - but the article states that only 10% of families will have the dad staying at home to look after the kids while the mother works. Are the kids sent off to childminders and nurseries in the other 57% of cases?

I am a feminist who believes firmly in the right of the woman to govern her own body and to decide how many children she has and when. But I still believe that once she has children she is obliged to care for them. Is it no longer possible to choose between one's children and one's career? It seems that these days everyone wants to have both.

Click to rate     Rating   2

@Anthony, (No longer in) Sheffield

"A lot of women get a cushy job in the overpaid public sector, while their husband is doing a real job in the private sector."

Oh yes, cushy public sector jobs like medicine or fire fighting or soldiering or working in a care home. Seriously Anthony, that chip on your shoulder seems to be hindering your ability to think coherently. Or if you really believe what you say, why don't you spend a couple of months working in an A&E department, or fighting in Afghanistan, then come back and tell us how cushy a job it is.

I work in the private sector and I'm under no illusions that my job is a *lot* cushier than one that involves cleaning up poo, being responsible for the lives of others, or being in extreme danger.

Oh, and Sheffield asked me to tell you it's very glad!

Click to rate     Rating   7

There are many Men Now that like to live off Women that Work, Women also have to still do all or most of the house work & look after any children etc etc Sometimes on there own. How is this Progress ??. Most Women of today like Weak minded Mupperty men which is Up to them. But when Women Need help and Support, when all of life's problems Come, its bye bye time.

Click to rate     Rating   3

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