Couples with young children are as likely to stay together if the mother is the main breadwinner rather than the father, new research has shown.
Dr Shireen Kanji, of the University of Leicester School of Management, and Dr Pia Schober, of the German Institute for Economic Research, Berlin, examined survey data on 3,944 British couples as their first child aged from eight months to seven years.
The researchers looked at whether the probability of relationship breakdown was different for couples where the mother earned more – defined as at least 20% extra – or the same, or less than their partners.
The researchers found no significant statistical difference in the risk of relationship break-up if the mother earned more than the father. They also found that in some instances couples were more stable if the woman earned more, for instance:
- In the period between when the child was about four and seven, the risk of divorce for married couples where the mother earned more than the father was 80% less than for married couples in which the father was the main earner.
- In the period between when the child was four and seven, the risk of unmarried couples splitting up where the mother earned more than the father was 60% less than for couples where the father was the main earner. Here the effect was statistically less significant.
The research also found that parents who earned approximately the same were no more likely to split up than those where the father earned more, and in some cases were less likely to separate. For example for couples with children of school age, the risk of separation fell by about half for those that were married, and by more for those that were unmarried.
The researchers said:
“Sociological and economic theories have long predicted that women’s increased economic independence would undermine the institution of marriage. Previous studies of married couples in the UK provided evidence that women’s higher earnings increased the risk of divorce.
“We found that influential theories that a woman’s higher earnings elevate the risk of divorce are unfounded amongst contemporary parents in the UK. Our findings show that equal earning, and a mother being a main earner, are not destabilising influences on relationships, even at an intense time of childcare responsibilities.”
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