Women Breadwinners Step Up As Men Lose Jobs

Families, otherwise unwilling to let women work, are psyched about the new breadwinner in the house. The social attitude is gradually changing toward this issue as well.

Should women be the breadwinners of the family?

For centuries the men have been the sole breadwinners in their houses, but as the 20th century had provided new opportunities to families the social and family dynamics have changed. The social attitude has gradually changed and men feel more comfortable with not being the sole breadwinners in certain Western cultures.

According to a CareerBuilder.com survey published in 2007, "37% of working dads say they'd leave their jobs if their spouse or partner made enough money to support the family. If given the choice, another 38% would take a pay cut to spend more time with their kids. In fact, one in four professional dads say that their jobs are having a negative impact on their relationship with their children."

While most men still don't feel comfortable with the fact of their wives being the sole breadwinners in their houses, there are, of course, happy exceptions. Some couples have evolved enough to feel perfectly comfortable acknowledging that the wife is more driven to be the breadwinner, so it makes sense for everyone if he’s giving junior his first feeding while she’s off covering the presidential campaign.